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AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT. 
8 VO,  $3.00,  net.  Postage  extra. 

A CENTURY  OF  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY: 
Being  a Brief  Review  of  the  Foreign  Rela- 
tions of  the  United  States,  1776-1876.  8vo, 
$3-S°- 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  & COMPANY, 

Boston  and  New  York. 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY 
IN  THE  ORIENT 


BY 


JOHN  W.  FOSTER 


Author  of A Century  of  American  Diplomacy  ” 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 
(Cbe  ^re#,  Cambriboe 

1903 


COPYRIGHT,  1903,  BY  JOHN  W.  FOSTER 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


Published  February^  igoy 


, PREFACE 


Although  there  is  a vast  amount  of  Kterature  on 
Asiatic  subjects,  there  exists  a recognized  need  of  a work 
covering  the  topics  embraced  in  the  present  volume. 
The  great  development  of  the  industrial  resources  of 
the  country,  the  necessity  of  larger  markets  in  Asia, 
and  the  recently  acquired  territorial  possessions  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  have  given  new  interest  and  importance 
to  the  international  relations  of  the  United  States  with 
the  Far  East.  Under  these  conditions,  it  seemed  desir- 
able to  have  in  consecutive  order  a brief  history  of 
the  diplomatic  intercourse  of  this  government  with  the 
Orient,  in  order  to  form  a correct  estimate  of  the  policy 
which  has  controlled  the  American  people  in  their  con- 
tact with  the  countries  in  that  quarter  of  the  globe. 

The  author  has  the  more  cheerfully  undertaken  the 
task  from  a conviction  that  a narrative  of  that  inter- 
course would  reflect  great  credit  upon  his  country,  and 
in  the  hope  that  it  might  stimulate  the  patriotism  of 
its  citizens,  and  lead  them  to  a more  ready  support  of 
their  government  in  the  discharge  of  its  difficult  and 
enlarged  responsibilities. 

The  treatment  in  a single  volume  of  a subject,  em- 


yi  PREFACE 

bracing  several  countries  and  covering  more  than  a 
century^  has  required  brevity  in  statement  and  the 
omission  of  many  interesting  facts.  The  author  has 
sought  partially  to  remedy  these  defects  by  a liberal 
citation  of  authorities,  which  will  enable  the  reader 
readily  to  continue  his  investigation. 

The  Turkish  Empire  has  not  been  included  in  the 
narrative,  for  the  reason  that  its  capital  is  situated  in 
Europe,  and  its  relations  are  controlled  in  great  mea- 
sure by  the  European  concert  of  powers.  Persia  has 
likewise  been  omitted  for  the  latter  reason,  and  because 
of  the  slight  diplomatic  and  commercial  intercourse  of 
the  United  States  with  that  country. 


Washington,  January,  1903. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I 

EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 

PAGE 


The  commercial  spirit  of  the  United  States 1 

Obstructed  by  policy  of  exclusion  in  Asiatic  countries  ...  2 

Freedom  of  early  Japanese  and  Chinese  commerce  ....  3 

Early  Portuguese  intercourse  .......  4 

The  Dutch  intercourse  .........  4 

The  British  intercourse  .........  5 

Closing  of  Chinese  ports  as  a result  of  this  intercourse  ...  6 

Early  European  intercourse  with  Japan  .....  7 

Introduction  of  Christianity  into  Japan  ......  9 

Embassy  of  Japanese  Christians  to  Rome 9 

Persecution  of  Christians  and  expulsion  of  foreigners  . . .10 

Commerce  with  Dutch  only  at  Nagasaki 11 

Dutch  relations  with  Japanese  authorities  . . . . .14 

European  embassies  to  Peking 16 

First  European  treaty  with  China  (Russia),  1689  . . . .17 

Russian  embassies  to  Peking 19 

Lord  Macartney’s  (British)  embassy  to  Peking  . . . .22 

Failure  of  Lord  Amherst’s  (British)  embassy  ....  25 


CHAPTER  II 

America’s  first  intercourse 


Difficulties  encountered  by  American  commerce  . . . .26 

Arrival  of  first  American  vessel  in  Chinese  waters  . . . 27  • 

Testimony  to  American  enterprise  .......  29 

Course  of  China  trade  and  armament  of  vessels  ....  30 


CONTENTS 


viii 

The  far  trade  mostly  in  American  control 31 

Samuel  Shaw,  at  Canton,  first  consul  in  the  East  ....  32 

His  report  on  manner  of  early  trade  at  Canton  , . . .33 

Amount  and  character  of  the  American  China  trade  ...  36 

The  profits  of  the  trade 37 

Action  of  first  Congress  of  the  United  States  respecting  China 

trade 38 

American  commerce  troubled  by  British  cruisers  in  war  of  1812  . 39 

The  “ Terranova  ” affair 40 

Improvement  in  methods  of  trade  at  Canton 42 

Embarrassments  attending  it 43 

First  effort  of  United  States  to  establish  diplomatic  relations  with 

the  East 45 

Arrival  of  American  envoy,  Mr.  Roberts,  at  Canton  ...  47 

Roberts’s  fruitless  negotiations  with  Annam  . . . ...  48 

Treaty  with  Siam,  the  first  made  with  an  Asiatic  power  . . 50 

Treaty  negotiated  with  the  Sultan  of  Muscat 51 

The  death  of  Mr.  Roberts 65 

CHAPTER  III 

THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 

The  failure  of  exclusion 56 

Lord  Napier’s  arrival  as  British  superintendent  of  trade  . . 57 

His  troubles  with  the  Chinese  authorities 58 

His  failure  and  death 62 

J.  Q.  Adams’s  opinion  that  China’s  action  justified  war  . . .63 

The  opium  trade  and  efforts  of  China  to  prohibit  it  ...  64 

Commissioner  Lin  and  seizure  of  British  opium  . . . .68 

The  “ Opium  War  ” and  its  results  . . . . ' . . 70 

The  moral  aspects  of  the  war 72 

Interest  of  United  States  in  the  contest 74 

Commodore  Kearney  secures  “ favored  nation  ” treatment  . . 75 

Caleb  Cushing  sent  to  negotiate  treaty  with  China  ...  79 

His  success  in  the  treaty  of  1844  86 

The  terms  and  effect  of  the  treaty 87 

The  principle  of  exterritoriality  inserted  in  it  . . . . .87 

Sketch  of  Mr.  Cushing’s  career . 94 

Legation  established  at  Canton.  — Cushing’s  successors  . . .96 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  IV 

INDEPENDENT  HAWAU 

Geographical  importance  of  the  islands 

Early  American  trade  with  Hawaii 

Rendezvous  for  the  fur  traders 

Importance  of  the  American  whaling  industry  .... 

American  monopoly  of  Hawaiian  trade 

The  advent  of  American  missionaries 

Their  success  and  influence 

Their  service  in  aid  of  diplomacy 

Early  attempts  of  European  governments  to  possess  the  islands 
First  official  intercourse  of  the  United  States  .... 

Its  treaty  of  1826  

Intercourse  of  American  naval  officers  with  the  government 

French  attempt  to  overthrow  the  government 

Secretary  Webster’s  declaration  as  to  independence  of  the  islands 
British-French  proposition  of  tripartite  guarantee  declined  by  the 

United  States 

British  attempt  to  annex  the  islands 

Unsatisfactory  state  of  treaty  relations  with  foreign  powers  . 

Treaty  of  1849  with  the  United  States 

Further  troubles  with  the  French 

Independence  finally  established 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 

Benefit  of  the  exclusion  policy  ..... 

Opening  of  Japan  a sequence  to  Chinese  treaties 

Mr.  Seward’s  prophecy  as  to  the  Pacific  .... 

Early  efforts  of  United  States  to  establish  intercourse 
, Mr.  Roberts’s  unexecuted  commission  . . . . 

Treaty  with  Borneo,  1860  ...... 

Commodore  Biddle’s  visit  to  Japan  in  1846 
Imprisonment  of  American  sailors  .... 

Decision  of  American  government  to  open  the  country  . 


X 


CONTENTS 


Commodore  Perry’s  appointment  and  sailing  of  expedition  . . 147 

Arrival  in  the  Bay  of  Yedo 150 

Preliminary  negotiations  and  departure  of  squadron  . . . 152 

Effect  of  visit  on  the  court  and  country  . . . . . . 159 

The  return  and  final  negotiations 160 

The  signing  of  the  treaty  and  its  terms  ......  162 

The  value  of  the  Perry  mission 166 

Its  appreciation  by  Japan 168 

CHAPTER  VI 

THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 

Japan’s  acceptance  of  the  new  relation 170 

Appointment  of  Harris  as  consul-general 172 

His  arrival  and  reception  at  Shimoda  ......  173 

He  negotiates  treaty  of  1857  175 

His  visit  to  Yedo  to  present  letter  of  President  ....  176 

His  reception  by  the  emperor  177 

Negotiation  of  treaty  of  1858  and  its  importance  ....  180 

Followed  by  treaties  with  European  powers  . . . . 183 

Visit  of  first  Japanese  embassy  to  Washington  ....  184 

Retirement  of  Harris  and  value  of  his  service  ....  185 

Effect  of  the  treaties  on  the  Shogun  and  Mikado  ....  187 

Anti-foreign  disorders 188 

The  Shimonoseki  affair 192 

Recognition  of  treaties  by  the  Mikado 197 

Reorganization  of  government  under  the  Mikado  as  supreme  ruler  198 

Revocation  of  decrees  against  Christianity 200 

The  new  order  of  affairs  and  its  effect  abroad  ....  201 

CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


The  cause  of  China’s  conservatism 203 

John  W.  Davis  minister — his  services 204 

Minister  Marshall  and  his  troubles  with  Yeh 205 

His  unsatisfactory  intercourse  with  naval  officers  . . . 206 

The  Taiping  Rebellion  .........  208 

Minister  McLane  — his  unsuccessful  efforts  at  intercourse  . . 213 


CONTENTS 

Dr.  Parker  in  charge  of  legation  ....... 

Second  British-Chinese  war 

United  States  naval  attack  on  Canton  forts 

Other  American  complications  during  the  war  .... 

Peaceful  poKcy  of  United  States 

Minister  Reed  goes  to  Tientsin  with  British  and  French  forces  to 

secure  revision  of  treaties 

American  and  other  treaties  signed  ....... 

Defeat  of  allies  at  the  Peiho  — American  complication  in  . 

Minister  Ward  visits  Peking  — exchange  of  treaties 

Allied  forces  capture  Peking 

CHAPTER  VIII 

CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 

Reorganization  of  government  after  capture  of  Peking  . 

Anson  Burlingame  minister,  his  services  ..... 

Sen  Ki-yu  and  eulogy  on  Washington  ...... 

Burlingame  appointed  Chinese  ambassador  and  visits  America  and 
Europe  ........... 

His  treaty  with  the  United  States  in  1868  ..... 

The  audience  question  

Chinese  youths  sent  to  America  for  their  education 

Dr.  Williams’s  services  and  retirement 

The  coolie  trade 

British  and  American  legislation  against  it 

Chinese  immigration  to  California  and  Burlingame  treaty 
Sentiment  in  favor  of  prohibition  — reasons  for  and  against 
Radical  legislation  vetoed  by  President  ...... 

Negotiation  of  treaty  of  1880,  limiting  immigration 

Opium  prohibition  treaty  ineffective  ...... 

Legislation  under  the  immigration  treaty  ..... 

Recent  legislation,  failure  of  extreme  measures  .... 

CHAPTER  IX 

KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 

Its  early  subjection  to  China  and  Japan  ...... 

First  intercourse  with  the  West  ....... 


xi 

219 

223 

225 

227 

229 

235 

238 

247 

249 

254 

256 

257 

259 

262 

265 

269 

272 

273 

275 

280 

282 

285 

294 

295 

297 

299 

304 

307 

308 


CONTENTS 


xii 

Massacre  of  Catholic  missionaries  and  hostilities  with  France  . 309 

Destruction  of  American  ship  General  Sherman  ....  310 

American  naval  and  diplomatic  expedition  and  its  failure  . . 312 

Futile  efforts  of  European  governments  for  intercourse  . . 318 

The  Japanese  treaty 320 

Efforts  of  the  United  States  to  open  the  country  finally  successful 

in  treaty  of  1882  323 

American  minister  received  and  embassy  sent  to  United  States  . 326 

China’s  unsuccessful  objection  to  diplomatic  relations  . . 327 

Toleration  of  Christianity 330 

Causes  of  China-Japan  war 332 

Intervention  of  United  States  for  peace 334 

Good  offices  of  United  States  to  belligerents  ....  335 

Peace  negotiations 339 

Results  of  the  Japanese  triumph 342 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 

Thralldom  of  Japan  under  the  treaties 344 

Embassy  to  America  and  Europe  for  treaty  revision  . . . 345 

Failure  of  embassy,  and  reforms  inaugurated  ....  348 

Services  of  Americans  in  reorganizing  the  government  . . 350 

Progress  and  character  of  reform  measures 351 

Effort  in  1878  to  secure  a revision  of  treaties  ....  352 

Hardships  suffered  on  account  of  the  treaties  ....  353 

Friendly  conduct  of  United  States  and  opposition  of  European 
powers  ...........  356 

Failure  of  revision  in  1878,  and  renewed  efforts  in  1886  . . . 357 

Overthrow  of  ministries  and  conservative  reaction  . . . 358 

The  effect  of  the  Chinese  war  on  treaty  revision  ....  360 

Great  Britain  accepts  revision  ; followed  by  other  European  gov- 
ernments   

Abolition  of  exterritoriality  and  treaty  tariffs  ....  361 

Fears  of  foreign  residents  not  realized  .....  363 

Japan  attains  equality  among  nations 364 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


The  development  of  the  Pacific  States,  its  influence  on  Hawaii 

Secretary  Marcy’s  project  of  annexation 

Reciprocity  treaties  of  1855  and  1867  fail  of  ratification 

Line  of  Kamehamehas  extinct,  race  dying  out  .... 

Ratification  of  reciprocity  treaty  of  1876  and  its  effects  . 

Renewed  in  1884,  with  cession  of  Pearl  Harbor  .... 

Kalakaua’s  reign 

Queen  Liliuokalani  and  her  attempt  to  overthrow  constitution 
Dethroned,  and  provisional  government  negotiates  treaty  of  annex- 
ation to  United  States 

Cleveland  withdraws  treaty  and  sends  commissioner  to  Hawaii  to 
investigate  .......... 

He  seeks  to  restore  ex-queen,  but  fails  . 

Republic  of  Hawaii,  its  four  years’  administration  . ... 

New  treaty  of  annexation  in  1897  

Japanese  protest  against  annexation 

Annexation  by  joint  resolution  during  Spanish  war 


365 

366 

367 

369 

370 
372 

375 

376 

377 

378 

379 
381 

381 

382 

383 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


Early  missionary  and  commercial  relations 
First  official  intercourse  of  United  States  with  Samoa 
Samoan  envoy  visits  United  States  ; treaty  of  1878 
Interests  of  Germany,  Great  Britain,  and  United  States 
Malietoa,  Tamasese,  and  Mataafa,  rivals  for  j^ingship 

Quarrels  between  the  consuls 

The  conference  at  Washington  in  1887  . 

Germany  declares  war  against  Malietoa  . . . 

The  conference  at  Berlin  in  1889  . . . . 

The  Berlin  Act  establishing  a joint  protectorate  . 
Operations  of  protectorate  unsatisfactory 

The  joint  commission  of  1899  

Partition  of  the  group  by  the  treaty  of  1899  . 


386 

388 

389 
389 

389 

390 

391 

392 

393 

394 

395 

396 

397 


XIV 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 

The  war  with  Spain  and  victory  of  Manila  Bay  ....  399 

The  prophetic  words  of  Seward 401 

Phases  of  the  question  as  to  the  disposal  of  the  Philippines  . . 402 

Cession  of  islands  to  the  United  States  and  reasons  for  demanding 

it 405 

“ Boxers  ” in  China  and  causes  of  movement  .....  408 

Chinese  antipathy  to  foreigners 409 

Christian  missions 410 

Commercial  and  political  aggressions  by  the  powers  . . . 412 

Emperor  introduces  reforms  and  is  dethroned  ....  417 

Growth  of  Boxer  uprising  and  siege  of  legations  . . . 418 

Relief  expedition  occupies  Peking  .......  420 

Secretary  Hay’s  note  to  powers,  July  3,  1900  ....  423 

Negotiations  for  peace  commenced 424 

Demands  made  upon  China  by  powers 427 

The  negotiations  as  to  the  punishment  of  officials  and  indemnity  . 428 

Provisions  of  the  treaty  of  peace 430 

United  States  influence  in  negotiations,  and  its  “open  door”  policy  431 

The  future  of  the  Chinese  Empire 434 

The  powers  predominant  in  the  Pacific 436 

APPENDIX. 

A.  Protocol  between  China  and  the  Treaty  Powers,  September  7, 

1901  441 

B.  The  Emigration  Treaty  between  China  and  the  United  States, 

1894  450 

C.  Treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Japan,  1894  . . . 453 

D.  Joint  Resolution  for  annexing  the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  the 

United  States,  1898  463 

E.  The  Samoan  Treaty  between  the  United  States,  Germany,  and 

Great  Britain,  1899  466 

F.  Protocol  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  August  12, 1898. 

— Treaty  of  Peace  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  1898  468 


Index 


477 


AMEKICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


w; 


>4 


V 

%<■ 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE 
ORIENT 


I 

EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 

The  people  of  the  United  States  of  America,  as  soon 
as  they  had  achieved  their  independence  in  1783,  man- 
ifested a notable  spirit  of  commercial  and  maritime 
adventure.  Within  two  years  after  peace  was  secured 
the  flag  of  the  new  nation  had  been  carried  by  Ameri- 
can ships  into  all  the  waters  of  the  globe.  When  they 
reached  the  Pacific  Ocean  in  quest  of  avenues  of  trade, 
they  found  almost  all  the  ports  of  the  countries  of  Asia 
closed  against  them.  Within  the  brief  lifetime  of  this 
young  nation  a great  transformation  has  been  wrought 
in  that  region  of  the  globe,  which  is  vitally  affecting  the 
political  and  commercial  relations  of  many  nations.  In 
this  transformation  the  United  States  has  borne  a con- 
spicuous and  an  honorable  part.  A narrative  of  its  par- 
ticipation in  the  events  which  have  brought  about  this 
change  in  the  affairs  of  the  world  will  be  the  subject  of 
this  volume. 

For  two  hundred  years  before  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century  and  for  a considerable  time  after 


2 AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

that  date,  the  free  access  of  foreigners  to  most  of  the 
countries  of  Asia  was  prohibited,  and  commerce  was 
carried  on  under  very  burdensome  and  restricted  con- 
ditions. This  state  of  afPairs  may  be  attributed  mainly 
to  two  causes  : first,  the  gross  ignorance  of  those  coun- 
tries respecting  the  rest  of  the  world ; and,  second,  the 
violent  and  aggressive  conduct  of  the  Europeans  who 
visited  them  soon  after  the  maritime  discoveries  of  the 
fifteenth  century.  A review  of  these  conditions  will 
enable  us  the  better  to  understand  the  difficulties  en- 
countered by  the  Americans  in  their  early  relations  with 
the  countries  of  the  Orient,  and  the  important  part 
taken  by  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  bring- 
ing them  out  of  their  seclusion  and  opening  them  up 
to  commercial  and  pohtical  intercourse  with  the  outside 
world. 

An  examination  of  the  history  of  the  Asiatic  nations 
shows  that  the  restrictive  policy  was  of  comparatively 
modern  origin.  The  earliest  records  of  Japan  give  ac- 
counts of  embassies  and  intercourse  with  Korea  and 
China  dating  from  two  thousand  years  ago  to  recent 
times.  Japanese  mariners  had  sailed  their  ships  to  all 
the  regions  of  Asia,  and  from  the  time  the  first  Euro- 
peans came  into  the  Pacific,  throughout  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  Japanese  vessels  carried  on 
commerce  with  India,  Siam,  Malacca,  the  Philippines, 
China,  and  Korea,  and  had  even  reached  the  coast  of 
America. 

Chinese  records  contain  reference  to  intercourse  with 
the  people  of  the  West  as  early  as  the  Greek  invasion 
of  Asia  under  Alexander ; and  the  classic  writings,  both 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


3 


Chinese  and  Latin,  show  that  there  were  some  trade  rela- 
tions with  Rome  in  the  time  of  the  early  emperors.  Dur- 
ing the  period  of  the  Byzantine  empire  quite  an  overland 
traffic  was  maintained,  and  we  find  accounts  of  frequent 
embassies  to  and  from  Arabia  and  India  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Christian  era  onward  through  the  medi- 
seval  period.  But  the  most  authentic  and  detailed 
narratives  are  those  of  Arab  travelers  and  merchants  in 
and  after  the  ninth  century,  showing  an  extensive  trade 
by  sea  from  the  ports  of  Arabia  and  the  Persian  Gulf ; 
and  even  at  that  date  Chinese  junks  were  making  voy- 
ages to  India,  Ceylon,  and  stiU  farther  west.  As  indi- 
cating the  state  of  intercourse  during  the  Mohammedan 
ascendancy,  it  may  be  noted  that  in  1420  a Chinese 
embassy  was  commissioned  to  go  to  all  the  nations  of 
the  Western  Ocean  extending  as  far  as  Arabia  Felix, 
and  the  record  is  that  it  was  well  received  by  them.^ 
When  European  vessels  began  to  visit  China  foreign 


^ i Cathay  and  the  Way  Thither,  translated  by  Colonel  Yule,  London, 
printed  for  the  Hakluyt  Society,  1866,  preliminary  essay,  sections  i.-v.  ; 

1 The  Chinese,  by  Sir  John  F.  Davis,  New  York,  1837,  chap.  i.  ; 

2 History  of  China,  by  Charles  GutzlafP,  New  York,  1834,  chap.  xx.  ; 
Arabs  and  Chinese,  by  Dr.  E.  Bretschneider,  London,  1871;  Ancient  Ac- 
count of  India  and  China,  by  two  Mohammedan  travelers,  by  E.  Renandot 
(translation),  London,  1733.  See  review  of  same  in  1 Chinese  Reposi- 
tory, Canton,  1833,  p.  6. 

The  Chinese  Repository,  one  of  the  most  valuable  publications  extant 
concerning  Chinese  matters,  was  founded  in  1832  by  Rev.  E.  C.  Bridg- 
man, the  first  American  missionary  sent  to  China,  — a gentleman  of  de- 
cided literary  merit,  who  was  enabled  to  render  useful  diplomatic  service 
to  his  own  country  and  devoted  his  life  to  the  elevation  of  the  Chinese. 
With  him  was  associated  in  the  publication  of  the  Repository  Dr.  S. 
Wells  Williams,  to  whom  frequent  reference  will  be  made  in  this  volume. 
The  publication  continued  through  twenty  years. 


4 AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

trade  was  carried  on  from  ports  of  the  various  provinces 
south  of  the  Yang-tse-Kiang.  The  first  European 
vessel  reached  Canton  in  1516,  and  was  of  Portuguese 
nationality.  It  was  received  in  a friendly  spirit,  and 
created  a favorable  impression  on  the  authorities.  It 
was  followed  the  next  year  by  an  armed  fleet  of  eight 
vessels,  seeking  trade  and  bearing  an  envoy  to  the 
emperor  of  China.  Delay  and  disappointment  were  ex- 
perienced by  the  envoy,  and  the  presence  of  such  a fleet 
soon  created  suspicion,  which  was  followed  by  a colli- 
sion with  the  Chinese  navy.  Other  vessels  followed  the 
visit  of  the  fleet,  and  Portugal,  then  at  the  height  of 
its  power,  pushed  its  commerce  with  China  along  up 
the  coast,  estabhshing  entrepots  at  Amoy  and  Ningpo. 
By  their  violent  conduct  they  brought  upon  themselves 
within  a few  years  the  hostihty  of  the  natives.  At 
Ningpo,  in  one  assault  alone,  eight  hundred  Portuguese 
were  slaughtered  and  thirty-five  ships  burned.  One  of 
the  charges  of  lawlessness  which  brought  about  this  act 
of  vengeance  was  that  the  Portuguese  were  accustomed 
to  send  armed  parties  into  the  neighboring  villages  and 
bring  in  the  women  who  fell  into  their  hands.^ 

Holland  early  became  a formidable  power  in  the  East. 
In  1622  a Dutch  squadron  of  seventeen  vessels  appeared 
off  the  coast  of  China,  and  after  being  repulsed  at  Macao 
by  the  Portuguese,  with  whom  they  were  at  war,  they 
seized  the  Pescadores  Islands,  lying  between  the  main- 
land and  Formosa,  established  themselves  there,  and 

1 2 History  of  China,  Gutzlaff,  p.  126  ; View  of  China,  R.  Morrison, 
1817  ; 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  28  ; 1 Chinese  Repository,  398,  425  ; His- 
torical Sketch  of  Portuguese  Settlements  in  China,  Boston,  1836. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


5 


began  to  erect  fortifications.  This  led  to  hostilities  with 
the  Chinese,  and  they  finally  withdrew  to  Formosa,  of 
which  they  took  possession,  with  the  design  of  making 
it  a permanent  Dutch  colony ; but  after  a constant  war- 
fare of  twenty-eight  years  with  the  Chinese  and  the 
natives,  they  were  finally  expelled.^ 

The  British  made  their  first  visit  to  Canton  in  1635. 
Four  vessels  fitted  out  by  the  East  India  Company, 
commanded  by  Captain  Weddel,  entered  the  river,  and 
were  halted  at  the  Bogue  forts.  A parley  ensued,  in 
which  they  insisted  on  proceeding  up  to  Canton,  but 
were  asked  to  await  the  consent  of  the  authorities.  Dis- 
regarding the  port  regulations  and  the  warning  cannon 
shot  of  the  Chinese,  the  whole  British  fleet,  quoting  the 
narrative  of  the  voyage,  did  on  a sudden  display  their 
bloody  ensigns,  and  . . . each  ship  began  to  play  furi- 
ously upon  the  forts  with  their  broadsides.”  Within 
two  or  three  hours  the  forts  were  silenced,  a force  of 
men  landed,  occupied  and  destroyed  the  forts,  put  on 
board  all  their  ordnance,  fired  the  council  house,  and 
demolished  what  they  could.”  The  fleet  then  moved 
up  to  Canton,  and  demanded  the  privilege  to  trade,  the 
vessels  being  filled  with  merchandise.  The  authorities 
still  hesitating,  the  fleet  again  began  hostilities,  pil- 
laged and  burnt  many  vessels  and  villages,  . . . spread- 
ing destruction  with  fire  and  sword.”  An  agreement 
was  finally  reached  whereby  the  British  were  allowed  to 
land  and  trade.  Sir  George  Staunton,  secretary  of  the 
first  British  embassy  to  China,  in  recording  this  event 
says  : The  unfortunate  circumstances  under  which  the 

^ 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  42  ; 2 History  of  China,  Gutzlaff,  chap.  xxii. 


6 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


English  first  got  footing  in  China  must  have  operated 
to  their  disadvantage,  and  rendered  their  situation  for 
some  time  peculiarly  unpleasant.’’  ^ It  was  thirty  years 
thereafter  before  another  British  vessel  visited  Chinese 
waters  for  purposes  of  trade. 

The  Spaniards  occupied  the  Philippines  in  1543,  and 
their  cruel  treatment  of  the  Chinese  who  were  estab- 
lished there  operated  to  the  great  prejudice  of  the  for- 
mer at  Canton  and  other  ports,  and  their  trade  with 
the  country  never  was  of  any  considerable  value.  The 
French,  in  the  early  European  intercourse  with  the 
East,  never  sought  to  estabhsh  trade  with  China ; but 
the  French  missionaries  entered  the  country  more  than 
two  centuries  before  the  European  vessels  reached  it. 
They  were  not  only  successful  in  their  missions,  but 
had  attained  much  influence  with  the  authorities  of  the 
empire.^ 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  Chinese  empire  and  its 
dependencies  extended  from  Korea  to  India.  Its  rulers 
did  not  fail  to  note  the  aggressive  spirit  of  the  Portu- 
guese, Dutch,  and  Spaniards,  who  had  taken  possession 
by  force  of  the  Philippines,  Java,  and  other  islands,  and 
had  acquired  a foothold  in  India  and  the  Malay  Penin- 
sula. The  early  intercourse  in  its  own  ports  with  these 
nationalities  and  the  Enghsh,  so  marked  by  violence 
and  bloodshed,  led  the  Chinese  authorities  to  stringent 

^ Embassy  to  the  Emperor  of  China,  by  Sir  George  Staunton,  London, 
1797,  p.  8 ; 2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  chap,  xxiii.  ; 1 The  Chinese,  Davis, 
chaps,  ii.  and  hi. 

2 For  early  Nestorian  missions,  see  1 Cathay,  by  Colonel  Yule,  pre- 
liminary essay,  sec.  vi.  ; for  Roman  Catholic  missions,  2 Cathay,  Yule, 
529  ; 2 Hist.  China,  GutzlafP,  43. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


7 


measures  in  the  seventeenth  century,  which  resulted  in 
the  closing  of  all  ports  except  that  of  Canton,  and  even 
at  that  port  foreign  intercourse  was  conducted  under 
very  onerous  conditions.^ 

From  the  beginning  European  commerce  encountered 
two  serious  obstructions.  The  emperor  and  the  ruling 
classes  recognized  no  equality  in  other  nations,  and  all 
who  held  intercourse  with  them  were  regarded  as  sub- 
jects of  vassal  nations,  and  their  envoys  as  tribute- 
bearers.  This  led  to  very  humihating  demands  upon 
foreigners,  and  in  part  explains  the  early  conflicts.  The 
Europeans,  also,  in  their  contact  with  the  Chinese  offi- 
cials, found  in  existence  a system  of  bribery  and  corrup- 
tion which  constituted  a heavy  tax  upon  trade,  and  was 
the  cause  of  much  dissatisfaction. 

The  experience  of  the  Japanese  with  the  early  Euro- 
pean voyagers  and  merchants  was  somewhat  different 
from  that  of  the  Chinese,  but  it  ended  even  more  disas- 
trously to  the  newly  established  relations.  The  Island 
Empire  was  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  navigator 
Pinto  in  154:2,  and  he  was  soon  followed  by  merchant 
vessels,  which  met  with  a welcome  from  the  native 
princes,  and  within  a few  years  a profitable  trade  was 
maintained.  The  Portuguese  were  followed  by  the 
Spaniards,  who  were  likewise  freely  admitted.  The  first 
Dutch  vessels  came  in  1600,  reaching  Japan  in  distress. 
The  captain  returned  to  Holland  to  report  on  the  new 
found  land  of  trade,  but  the  pilot  Adams,  who  was  an 

^ 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  28,  32  ; Narrative  of  Voyages,  by  A.  Delano, 
Boston,  1817,  p.  531  ; China  and  the  Chinese,  by  Rev.  J.  L.  N.  Nevius, 
New  York,  1869,  p,  299  ; A History  of  China,  by  S.  Wells  Williams, 
edited  by  F.  W.  Williams,  New  York,  1897,  p.  55. 


8 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Englishman,  remained  in  the  country,  teaching  the 
natives  the  European  art  of  shipbuilding  and  becoming 
a great  favorite  at  court.  Other  vessels  arrived  in  1609, 
and  from  that  date  they  began  to  divide  the  trade  with 
the  Portuguese,  who  had  heretofore  enjoyed  almost  a 
monopoly  of  it.  The  English  established  themselves  in 
1613,  and  within  a few  years  had  factories  at  Hirado, 
Nagasaki,  Osaka,  Yedo,  and  various  other  ports.^ 

While  in  China  there  was  a constant  drain  of  silver 
from  Europe  to  maintain  the  balance  of  trade,  in  Japan 
gold  and  silver  were  plentiful,  as  also  copper,  which  was 
then  a scarce  metal  in  Europe.  During  the  seventeenth 
century  the  Dutch  exported  from  Japan  43,482,250 
pounds  sterling  in  gold  and  silver,  principally  gold,  and 
in  that  and  the  next  century  206,253  tons  of  copper. 
For  nearly  one  hundred  years  Europeans  enjoyed  a free 
and  lucrative  trade  with  the  empire,  but  an  influence 
was  at  work  in  the  country  which  was  destined  to  create 
an  effectual  barrier  to  trade  and  intercourse. 

^ One  of  the  most  frequently  cited  works  on  the  early  intercourse  of 
Europeans  with  Japan  is  Dr.  E.  Kaempfer’s  History  of  Japan.  He  was 
attached  to  the  Dutch  factory  at  Deshima.  The  following  are  accessible 
translations  and  abstracts  : History  of  J apan,  by  E.  Kaempf er,  translated 
by  J.  J.  Scheuchzer,  London,  1727,  2 vols.  ; abridged  edition,  London, 
1853  ; J.  A.  Pinkerton’s  edition,  London,  1811  ; abstract  by  R.  G.  Wat- 
son, Transactions  of  Asiatic  Society,  Japan,  vol.  ii.,  Yokohama,  1874.  As 
to  Kaempfer,  Things  Japanese,  by  Professor  Chamberlain,  London,  1891, 
p.  242.  Histoire  du  Japon,  par  le  P.  Fr.  de  Charlevoix,  Paris,  1754,  6 vols. 
Memorials  of  the  Empire  of  Japon,  by  T.  Ruudall,  London,  Hakluyt 
Society,  1850.  6 Chinese  Repository,  pp.  460,  553  ; 7 ib.  p.  217.  Diary  of 
Richard  Cock,  1615-1622,  by  E.  M.  Thompson,  London,  1883.  Letters  of 
William  Adams,  1611-1617,  reprinted  from  Hakluyt  Society,  Yokohama, 
1878.  Extracts  from  Cock  and  Adams  will  be  found  in  Rundall’s  Me- 
morials above  cited.  As  to  Adams,  Chamberlain’s  Things  Japanese,  13. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


9 


With  one  of  the  earliest  Portuguese  ships  came  the 
great  missionary  apostle  of  the  Jesuits,  Francis  Xavier, 
who  landed  at  Kagoshima  in  1549.  He  was  kindly 
received,  and  during  his  short  sojourn  his  labors  were 
attended  with  wonderful  success.  Other  laborers  fol- 
lowed, and  the  toleration  was  so  complete  that  in  a few 
years  the  Christians  numbered  hundreds  of  thousands, 
and  within  fifty  years  it  was  estimated  that  they  had 
increased  to  nearly  two  million  adherents.^  Among 
them  were  found  princes,  generals,  and  the  flower  of 
the  nobility.  Both  in  regard  to  religion  and  commerce 
it  may  be  said  that  the  government  of  Japan  at  that 
period  exhibited  more  liberality  to  the  nations  of  Eu- 
rope than  the  latter  exhibited  to  each  other.  Velasco, 
the  governor-general  of  the  Phihppines,  in  an  account 
of  a visit  which  he  made  to  the  country  in  1608,  re- 
lates an  anecdote  of  the  Shogun,  who  was  urged  by 
the  Buddhist  priests  to  suppress  the  Christians.  How 
many  sects  may  there  be  in  Japan?’’  he  asked.  ^^Thir- 
ty-five,” was  the  reply,  referring  to  the  many  Buddhist 
sects.  ^‘Well,”  he  said,  we  can  easily  bear  with  thirty- 
six.”  ^ 

In  1582  three  of  the  nobility,  representing  as  many 
of  the  Christian  princes,  attended  by  a suite  befitting 
their  station,  made  a visit  to  Rome  to  pay  their  respects 
to  the  head  of  the  Catholic  Church.  They  were  received 
with  distinguished  attention  by  the  crowned  heads  and 
people  in  their  journey  through  Portugal,  Spain,  and 

^ Memorials  of  Japon,  Hakluyt  Society,  preface,  v. ; The  United  States 
and  Japan,  by  I.  Nittobe,  Baltimore,  1891,  p.  10. 

2 Memorials  of  Japon,  184:. 


10  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

the  various  states  of  Italy.  They  were  welcomed  with 
all  possible  pomp  and  ceremony  by  the  aged  Pope,  who 
at  the  close  of  the  audience  pronounced  the  words  of 
Simeon  : Nunc  dimittis.  Throughout  Catholic  Europe 
their  visit  was  accepted  as  the  assurance  that  Japan 
was  soon  to  become  a Christian  nation.  They  reached 
Nagasaki  in  1590,  after  an  absence  of  eight  years. 
They  were  received  in  audience  by  the  Shogun  and  told 
their  marvelous  story.  It  was  anticipated  that  it  would 
have  a favorable  effect  on  the  government,  but  events 
were  taking  place  which  were  to  bring  about  other 
results.^ 

For  forty  years  the  Catholic  missionaries  were  freely 
permitted  to  carry  on  their  propaganda,  and  the  native 
Christians  enjoyed  the  same  treatment  by  the  authori- 
ties as  the  Buddhists.  In  1587  the  first  indication  of 
trouble  with  the  government  arose,  when  the  Shogun 
dispatched  commissioners  to  make  investigations  of 
charges  brought  against  the  Christians.  These  com- 
missioners reported  that  they  were  overzealous  in  press- 
ing their  faith  on  the  people,  that  they  had  destroyed 
national  temples,  insulted  and  ridiculed  the  Buddhist 
priests  and  assaulted  their  monasteries,  and  that  Chris- 
tian traders  were  carrying  away  the  natives  into  slavery. 
Based  upon  this  report,  the  Shogun  issued  an  edict 
expelling  the  priests,  but  exempting  the  traders  so  long 
as  they  observed  the  laws  of  the  empire.  But  the  order 
was  not  generally  put  into  force,  and  the  missionaries 
were  able  to  evade  it. 

1 Histoire  du  Japon,  Charlevoix.  An  account  of  the  embassy  based 
upon  Charlevoix  will  be  found  in  8 Chinese  Repository,  273. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


11 


The  country  was  filled  with  friars  of  various  orders ; 
their  conduct  and  habits  were  not  always  exemplary, 
and  they  were  not  politic  in  making  prominent  their 
devotion  to  the  Pope.  Their  claim  of  a superior  obedi- 
ence to  a foreign  potentate  and  the  visit  of  the  Japa- 
nese embassy  to  Kome  alarmed  the  imperial  authorities, 
and  orders  were  issued  for  a strict  enforcement  of  the 
edict.  This  caused  a rebellion  of  the  native  Christians, 
which  was  with  great  difficulty  suppressed.  Incensed 
at  these  events,  the  Shogun  issued  a second  edict  in 
1637,  expelling,  not  only  the  missionaries,  but  all  for- 
eigners, prohibiting  their  entrance  into  the  country,  and 
forbidding  the  Japanese  to  go  abroad.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Dutch  historian  of  the  period,  Japan  was 
shut  up.”  By  1639  not  a single  Portuguese  or  Spaniard 
— merchant  or  missionary  — remained  in  the  country, 
and  it  was  supposed  that  every  native  Christian  had 
recanted  or  been  slaughtered.  Only  the  Dutch,  not  of 
the evil  sect,”  were  permitted  to  remain,  and  they 
were  confined  to  the  little  island  of  Deshima  in  the 
harbor  of  Nagasaki.  Thenceforward  for  more  than 
two  centuries  the  liberal  policy  of  foreign  intercourse 
was  reversed,  and  only  through  this  small  Dutch  factory 
did  the  Japanese  government  and  people  communicate 
with  the  outside  world.^ 

Merchants  of  all  nationalities  for  a century  had  found 

^ 1 History  of  Japan,  Kaempfer,  passim  ; 3 Histoire  du  Japon, 
Charlevoix ; Letters  of  William  Adams.  A full  discussion  of  the 
accounts  of  the  persecution,  by  Kaempfer  (Protestant)  and  Charlevoix 
(Catholic),  will  be  found  in  the  preface  to  Memorials  of  Japan,  already 
cited.  The  Mikado’s  Empire,  by  W.  E.  Griffis,  New  York,  1876,  pp. 
248-259. 


12  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

a free  and  open  market,  and  the  ports  of  Japan  had 
furnished  a friendly  harbor  for  all  vessels.  The  mar- 
ket had  been  not  only  free  but  very  remunerative,  as 
one  hundred  per  cent,  profit  was  not  an  unusual  return.^ 
The  testimony  of  all  writers  of  the  period  is  that  the 
Japanese  in  their  intercourse  with  foreigners  were  dis- 
tinguished for  high-bred  courtesy,  combined  with  refined 
liberality  and  generous  hospitality.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  merchants  and  mariners  with  whom  they  came  in 
contact  were  usually  of  bad  manners  and  morals,  over- 
reaching, avaricious,  and  cruel;  the  missionaries  were 
often  arrogant,  ambitious,  and  without  proper  respect 
for  native  customs ; and  the  naval  and  other  officials  of 
foreign  governments  were  haughty,  actuated  by  a spirit 
of  aggression,  and  unmindful  of  the  comity  of  nations. 
The  history  of  the  time  shows  that  the  policy  of  exclu- 
sion adopted  by  Japan  in  the  seventeenth  century  was 
not  inherent  in  the  constitution  of  the  state  or  the  char- 
acter of  the  people,  but  that  it  was  adopted  in  conse- 
quence of  the  unfavorable  character  of  the  relations 
with  Europeans. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  note  the  conditions  under 
which  the  hmited  intercourse  with  the  Dutch  factory 
was  carried  on.  The  island  of  Deshima,  artificially, 
built  in  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki,  six  hundred  feet  long 
and  two  hundred  and  forty  feet  wide,  was  surrounded 
by  a high  stone  wall,  which  permitted  only  a distant  view 
to  its  inmates.  It  was  connected  with  the  mainland  by 
a stone  bridge  guarded  by  Japanese  police  and  had  only 
one  other  outlet,  the  sea  gate.  Both  of  these  gates  were 

^ Memorials  of  Japon,  p.  iv.  ; Chamberlain’s  Things  Japanese,  296. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


13 


closed  and  guarded  by  night.  In  this  veritable  prison 
eleven  Dutchmen  were  permitted  to  reside.  They  were 
occasionally  allowed  to  pass  beyond  its  walls  for  exer- 
cise, but  only  on  written  application  to  the  governor  of 
the  province  twenty-four  hours  in  advance,  and  then 
always  accompanied  by  a numerous  police  retinue. 
Owing  to  the  bitter  hostility  of  the  Dutch  to  the  Cath- 
olic missionaries  and  merchants,  the  Japanese  supposed 
that  the  Christians  worshiped  two  Christs,  and  when  it 
was  found  that  both  sects  acknowledged  the  same  God, 
the  Dutch  at  Deshima  were  prohibited  from  observing 
the  Sabbath  and  were  carefully  to  abstain  from  any 
manifestation  of  their  faith.  The  Japanese  assistants 
and  servants  employed  by  them  were  not  permitted  to 
remain  on  the  island  overnight ; and  before  entering 
on  their  duties  they  were  obliged  to  sign,’  with  their 
blood,  an  oath  to  contract  no  friendship  with  the 
Dutch,  to  afford  them  no  information,  and  have  no 
communication  with  them  except  in  their  recognized 
functions.  No  persons  except  these  employees  and 
government  officials  were  ever  admitted  to  the  island.' 

Two  Dutch  vessels  annually  were  permitted  to  come 
to  the  factory,  but  under  the  strictest  surveillance.  The 
cargoes  when  landed  were  delivered  to  Japanese  author- 
ities, who  sold  the  imported  merchandise,  fixed  the  price 
on  the  goods  to  be  exported,  and  gave  in  their  un- 
checked accounts  to  the  Dutch  president  of  the  fac- 
tory. The  trade  thus  carried  on  was  comparatively 

^ A similar  establishment  was  allowed  certain  Chinese  merchants  in 
another  quarter  of  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki.  For  account  of  Chinese  trade, 
9 Chinese  Repository,  378. 


14  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

insignificant.  The  total  value  of  the  two  caro^oes  was 
estimated  not  to  exceed  <£70^000,  and  the  profits  must 
have  been  small  after  the  presents,  tribute  and  fees 
were  deducted.  When  the  ships  were  ready  to  sail  on 
their  return  voyage  the  president  had  to  wait  upon  the 
governor  of  the  province  in  formal  audience  to  obtain 
permission,  at  which  time  he  was  required  to  sign  a 
document  that  they  would  neither  bring  in  nor  hold 
any  intercourse  with  the  Portuguese  and  would  advise 
the  authorities  of  any  hostile  designs  against  Japan 
which  came  to  their  knowledge. 

No  direct  intercourse  was  held  with  the  government 
of  the  Netherlands,  except  through  the  Dutch  East 
India  Company  at  Batavia.  On  the  arrival  of  each  ship 
presents  had  to  be  given  to  the  governor  of  the  pro- 
vince ; and  a visit  and  tribute  paid  to  the  Shogun  at  his 
capital,  Yedo,  at  first  every  year,  but  during  the  last 
century  the  visit  was  made  once  in  four  years,  though 
the  tribute  continued  to  be  sent  annually.  The  Jap- 
anese nobility  and  higher  authorities  affected  a great 
contempt  for  trade,  and  it  was  their  practice  to  hold  no 
direct  intercourse  with  the  Dutch  ofiicials.  Though 
many  of  the  factory  presidents  familiarized  themselves 
with  the  language,  they  never  could  address  the  higher 
authorities  directly.  In  his  intercourse  with  the  presi- 
dent the  governor  spoke  to  his  secretary,  the  secretary 
repeated  his  words  to  the  interpreter  (a  Japanese),  and 
the  latter  translated  it  to  the  president;  and  the  presi- 
dent’s answer  came  back  through  the  same  current  of 
communication. 

The  visit  of  ceremony  of  the  president  of  the  factory 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


15 


to  the  Shogun  was  made  in  great  state.  Two  other 
Dutchmen  and  a number  of  Japanese  of&cials  accom- 
panied him,  and  the  entire  retinue  consisted  of  about 
two  hundred  persons.  , They  visited  on  their  journey 
the  local  princes,  with  whom  they  exchanged  presents. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  embassy  at  Yedo  they  were  kept 
in  strict  confinement,  and  permitted  to  go  out  only  on 
visits  of  ceremony.  The  audience  of  the  Shogun  was  in 
the  following  form.  When  the  president  entered  the 
hall  of  audience,  they  cried  out  Holanda  Capitan,^'* 
which  was  the  signal  for  him  to  draw  near  and  make 
his  obeisance.  Accordingly,  he  crawled  on  his  hands 
and  knees  to  a place  indicated,  between  the  presents  he 
had  brought  ranged  on  one  side  and  the  place  where 
the  Shogun  sat  on  the  other ; and  then,  kneeling,  he 
bowed  his  forehead  quite  down  to  the  ground,  and  so 
crawled  backwards  like  a crab,  without  uttering  a sin- 
gle word.  The  stillness  of  death  prevailed  during  the 
audience,  which  lasted  scarcely  sixty  seconds.  The 
Dutch  chronicler’s  comment  is : So  mean  and  short 

a thing  is  the  audience  we  have  of  this  mighty  mon- 
arch.” ^ Although  cut  off  from  the  outside  world,  Jap- 
anese commerce  did  not  languish.  Kaempfer,  writing 
in  1692,  says  that  confined  within  the  limits  of  their 
empire  the  people  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  peace  and 
contentment,  and  did  not  care  for  any  commerce  or 
communication  with  foreign  parts,  because  such  was 
the  state  of  their  country  they  could  subsist  without  it. 

^ 1 History  of  Japan,  Kaempfer.  An  account  of  the  Dutch  factory  at 
Deshima,  taken  from  Kaempfer  and  other  Dutch  and  German  authorities, 
will  be  found  in  9 Chinese  Repository,  291. 


16 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


How  much/’  he  remarks,  is  carried  on  between  the 
several  provinces  and  parts  of  the  empire ! how  busy 
and  industrious  the  merchants  are  everywhere  ; how 
full  their  ports  of  ships ; how  many  rich  and  mercantile 
towns  up  and  down  the  country ! There  are  such  mul- 
titudes of  people  along  the  coasts,  and  near  the  sea- 
ports, such  a noise  of  oars  and  sails,  and  numbers  of 
ships  and  boats  ! ” One  of  the  presidents  of  the  Dutch 
factory,  in  giving  an  account  of  his  visit  to  the  Shogun, 
states  that  there  were  as  many  as  a thousand  vessels  in 
the  bay  of  Yedo. 

The  measures  of  exclusion  adopted  had  the  effect  to 
deter  the  European  nations  from  further  attempts  at 
intercourse,  either  commercial  or  political,  with  Japan, 
but  not  so  as  to  China.  The  trade  of  that  vast  empire 
was  greatly  coveted,  and  the  profits  which  were  derived 
from  the  limited  commerce  through  Canton,  even  with 
its  burdensome  conditions,  only  whetted  the  appetite  of 
the  avaricious  merchants  for  greater  facilities.  Dur- 
ing the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  repeated 
attempts  were  made  by  the  governments  of  Portugal, 
Holland,  Great  Britain,  and  Russia,  by  imposing  em- 
bassies sent  to  Peking,  to  secure  greater  trade  privileges. 
The  embassies  of  the  first  three  governments  were  in- 
variably attended  with  failure.^  Russia,  however,  oc- 
cupied a different  relation.  She  was  not  seeking  for 
maritime  intercourse.  Her  vessels  of  war  did  not  come 
into  Chinese  waters  to  awaken  alarm  and  commit  out- 

^ As  to  Portuguese  embassies,  2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  129,  137,  139 ; 
as  to  Dutch  embassies,  2 Hist.  China,  GutzlafP,  152,  159  ; as  to  early 
European  embassies,  China,  by  R.  Montgomery  Martin,  London,  1847,  p. 
257. 


EAKLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


17 


rages.  Her  commerce  had  to  be  established  over  a long 
land  route.  Besides,  Russia  bad  become  a coterminous 
neighbor  of  China,  and  it  was  necessary  to  establish 
some  kind  of  political  relations.  By  1637  the  Cossacks 
bad  advanced  across  Siberia  and  stood  on  the  shores  of 
the  Pacific  at  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  The  Amur  River 
bad  become  a part  of  the  boundary,  and  Mongolia  and 
Manchuria  touched  the  Russian  frontier.  The  aggres- 
sive spirit  of  the  Czar’s  representatives  soon  brought 
them  into  conflict  with  the  Chinese,  resulting  in  a state 
of  war,  in  which  the  Russians  were  worsted  and  sought 
for  a peaceful  adjustment.  This  brought  about  the 
treaty  of  Nipchu  or  Neverchinsk,  signed  in  1689 ; and 
as  it  was  the  first  treaty  negotiated  by  the  emperor  of 
China  upon  terms  of  equality  with  a European  power,  it 
calls  for  more  than  a passing  notice. 

The  negotiations  took  place  on  the  frontier,  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  armies  of  both  contestants.  The 
Chinese  plenipotentiaries  were  accompanied  by  two  Cath- 
olic missionaries,  who  acted  both  as  advisers  and  in- 
terpreters, and  exercised  an  important  influence  on  the 
result.  The  negotiations  were  quite  prolonged,  each 
party  indulging  in  very  wordy  discussions.  The  final 
scene  of  the  signature  of  the  treaty  was  enacted  in  a 
tent  erected  for  the  ceremony,  midway  between  the 
two  armies.  The  treaty  was  read  aloud,  and  each  party 
signed  and  sealed  the  two  copies  that  were  to  be  de- 
livered to  the  other,  viz.,  by  the  Chinese,  one  in  their 
own  language,  and  a second  in  Latin ; by  the  Russians, 
one  in  their  language,  and  a second  in  Latin  ; but  the 
Latin  copies  only  were  sealed  with  the  seals  of  both 


18  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

nations.  The  contracting  parties,  as  described  by  the 
priest  Gerbillon,  then  rising  altogether  and  holding 
each  the  copies  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  swore  in  the 
name  of  their  masters  to  observe  them  faithfully,  tak- 
ing Almighty  God,  the  sovereign  Lord  of  all  things,  to 
witness  the  sincerity  of  their  intentions.”  The  ex- 
change of  copies  of  the  treaty  followed,  and  the  parties 
embraced  each  other,  trumpets,  drums,  fifes,  and  haut- 
boys sounding  all  the  while.  On  the  next  day  presents 
were  exchanged  and  the  plenipotentiaries  separated, 
bearing  their  respective  copies  of  the  treaties  to  their 
sovereigns. 

The  treaty  fixed  the  boundaries  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, Eussia  agreed  to  withdraw  from  the  Chinese  ter- 
ritory which  it  had  occupied  for  some  years,  free  trade 
across  the  frontier  was  stipulated,  and  provision  was 
made  for  the  extradition  of  criminals  and  fugitives. 
The  Chinese  emperor  then  reigning  was  Kang-he,  one 
of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Manchu  dynasty.  He 
took  great  credit  to  himself  for  the  treaty,  saying  of  his 
reign,  Since  I ascended  the  throne  I have  directed 
mihtary  operations  to  a great  extent.  I have  crushed 
rebels,  I have  taken  possession  of  Formosa,  I have 
humbled  the  Russians.”  ^ 

The  exchange  of  ratifications  of  this  treaty  did  not 
take  place  till  four  years  after  its  signature,  when  Peter 
the  Great  sent  an  envoy  to  Peking  attended  by  a large 

^ Description  de  I’Empire  de  la  Chine,  etc.,  par  J.  B.  du  Halde,  1735. 
For  text  of  treaty.  Treaties,  Conventions,  etc.,  between  China  and 
Foreign  Courts,  prepared  by  Inspector-General  of  Customs,  Shanghai, 
1887,  p.  3 ; also  Archives  Diploraatiques,  Paris,  t.  i.  p.  270  ; 2 Hist. 
China,  Gutzlaff,  247  ; 8 Chinese  Repository,  417. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


19 


retinue,  and  a year  and  a half  were  required  for  the 
journey.^  The  treaty  of  1689  did  not  secure  satisfac- 
tory results,  and  in  1719  another  ambassador,  Ismailoff, 
was  sent  to  Peking  to  secure  by  treaty  better  trade  facil- 
ities. When  his  train  reached  the  frontier  a curious 
incident  occurred  illustrative  of  an  oriental  pecuharity. 
Some  of  the  Russians  had  brought  their  wives  with 
them.  ^^We  have  women  enough  at  Peking,”  the 
Chinese  official  said.  Appeal  was  made  to  the  emperor, 
many  weeks  were  lost,  and  at  the  end  the  women  had 
to  be  sent  back.  The  same  exclusion  was  observed  at 
Canton,  where  no  European  women  were  admitted  even 
to  the  foreign  factories  until  just  previous  to  the  Brit- 
ish war  of  1840.  A similar  rule  was  enforced  by 
the  Japanese  at  the  Dutch  factory  at  Deshima.  It  is 
recorded  that  in  the  year  1817  a new  president  of  the 
factory  arrived,  bringing  with  him  his  young  wife  and 
their  new-born  babe ; and  that  it  threw  the  whole  town 
of  Nagasaki  — population,  government,  and  all  — into 
consternation.  It  was  made  the  subject  of  a court 
council  at  Yedo,  and  the  young  wife  was  forced  to  re- 
turn to  Holland.^ 

On  his  arrival  at  Peking,  Ismailoff  was  notified  that 
he  could  transact  no  business  until  after  his  audience 


^ From  Moscow  Overland  to  China,  by  E.  Y.  Ides,  Ambassador  from 
the  Czar  of  Muscovy,  translated  into  English,  London,  1706  ; Journal 
of  Russian  Embassy  Overland  to  Peking,  by  Adam  Brand,  Secretary  of 
the  Embassy,  1698  ; 2 Hist.  China,  GutzlafP,  248  ; 8 Chinese  Repository, 
520. 

2 2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  251  ; 9 Chinese  Repository,  297  ; Narrative 
of  Voyages,  A.  Delano,  Boston,  1817,  p.  540  ; A Cycle  of  Cathay,  by 
W.  A.  P.  Martin,  New  York,  1896,  p.  20. 


20 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


of  the  emperor,  at  which  he  must  perform  the  obeisance 
known  as  the  kotou  or  kowtow.  To  this  he  strongly- 
objected,  as  derogatory  of  the  dignity  of  his  sovereign, 
and  protracted  discussions  followed,  but  in  the  end  he 
was  forced  to  yield.  A detailed  account  of  his  recep- 
tion is  given  by  Father  Ripa,  a Catholic  missionary, 
who  acted  as  interpreter.  After  describing  the  emperor 
and  the  gorgeous  display  with  which  he  was  sur- 
rounded, he  says  Count  Ismailoff  on  entering  the  hall 
immediately  prostrated  himself  before  the  emperor, 
holding  up  the  Czar’s  letter  with  both  hands.  His 
majesty  now  thought  proper  to  mortify  him  by  mak- 
ing him  remain  some  time  in  this  particular  posture. 
The  proud  Russian  was  indignant  at  this  treatment, 
and  gave  unequivocal  signs  of  resentment  by  certain 
motions  of  his  mouth  and  by  turning  his  head  aside, 
which,  under  the  circumstances,  was  very  unseemly.” 
The  emperor,  however,  soon  relieved  him  from  his  em- 
barrassment, received  the  letter  from  him  on  his  knees, 
and  held  some  conversation  with  him.  The  narrative 
states  that  after  the  presentation  of  the  letter  the 
ambassador,  attended  by  the  master  of  ceremonies, 
returned  to  his  former  place  in  the  open  vestibule ; and 
behind  him  stood  his  principal  attendants.  When  all 
were  marshaled,  at  particular  signals  given  by  the 
master  of  ceremonies,  they  all  went  down  on  their 
knees,  and,  after  the  lapse  of  a few  minutes,  bent  their 
heads  thrice  to  the  ground.  After  this  all  arose  upon 
their  feet,  then  again  kneeled  down  and  prostrated 
themselves  three  times.  In  this  manner  they  kneeled 
thrice,  and  performed  nine  prostrations.” 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


21 


After  all  this  abasement  the  ambassador  was  refused 
his  treaty,  but  assurances  were  given  that  the  caravan 
trade  should  be  allowed,  and  that  his  secretary  might 
remain  at  Peking  as  a permanent  charg^  But  ob- 
stacles continued  to  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  trade  by 
the  Chinese  authorities,  and  another  embassy  had  soon 
to  be  sent  to  Peking.^ 

In  1727  a new  treaty  was  made  between  the  two 
empires,  which  reestablished  the  boundaries,  fixed  more 
accurately  the  trade  relations,  and  provided  for  a per- 
manent ecclesiastical  mission.  Caravans  were  to  be 
dispatched  every  three  years,  and  six  priests  and  four 
lay  members  were  permitted  to  remain  at  Peking  to 
learn  the  language,  thus  furnishing  interpreters  and 
secretaries  for  the  Eussian  government.  This  treaty 
continued  in  force  for  more  than  a century,  and  was 
only  displaced  by  the  treaty  of  1858.  Under  it  a lim- 
ited trade  was  maintained,  the  traffic  being  mainly 
the  exchange  of  furs  for  tea.  But  that  was  of  an  un- 
satisfactory character,  being  subject  to  frequent  im- 
pediments on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  government. 
The  acquisitive  spirit  of  Russia  also  caused  trouble 
on  the  border,  and  the  Czar  dispatched  successive  en- 
voys to  Peking  to  negotiate  in  respect  to  these  matters, 
but  they  were  either  turned  back  at  the  frontier  for 
refusal  to  make  the  prostrations,  or  failed  to  effect  any- 
thing at  the  capital.  An  attempt  was  made  in  1806  to 
open  a trade  at  Canton  by  Captain  Krusenstern  of  the 

^ Travels  of  John  Bell  of  Antermony,  1763  ; Father  Ripa’s  Residence 
at  the  Court  of  Peking  (Extract  in  U.  S.  Foreign  Relations,  1873,  p.  163); 
2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  250. 


22 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Russian  navy,  but  he  was  refused,  the  edict  being  that 
the  trade  of  that  nation  should  be  confined  to  the  over- 
land traffic.^ 

The  commercial  supremacy  of  Great  Britain  was 
becoming  more  pronounced  throughout  the  world  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century,  and  English  merchants 
under  the  East  India  Company  were  enjoying  the 
greater  share  of  the  Chinese  trade  allowed  through 
Canton,  but  it  was  conducted  under  the  most  embar- 
rassing conditions.  For  this  reason  it  was  resolved 
that  a special  effort  should  be  made  at  Peking  to  secure 
for  British  commerce  freer  facilities  in  the  empire. 
Lord  Macartney,  governor-general  of  India,  a noble- 
man of  considerable  diplomatic  experience,  was  chosen 
as  the  head  of  an  embassy,  which  was  notable  for  its 
personnel  and  the  display  with  which  it  was  sought  to 
impress  the  Chinese  government  and  people.  It  was 
dispatched  in  a man-of-war,  accompanied  by  two  ships 
laden  with  merchandise  for  barter.  The  embassy  dis- 
embarked at  Tientsin,  and  ascended  the  Peiho  in  boats, 
from  which  the  Chinese  displayed  flags  bearing  the 
words,  Ambassador  bearing  tribute  from  the  country 
of  England.”  ^ As  it  passed  overland  from  Tung-chau 
to  Peking  it  presented  a most  striking  appearance.  The 
ambassador,  his  secretary,  and  other  officers  of  his  suite 
were  carried  in  palanquins,  they  were  followed  by  sixty 
carts  conveying  the  escort  of  British  soldiers  and  ser- 
vants, with  a much  larger  train  for  the  private  baggage, 

1 For  text  of  treaty  of  1727,  Treaties,  Conventions,  etc.,  of  China, 
Shanghai,  1887,  p.  8 ; 2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  257-264. 

^ 2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  195  ; Staunton’s  Embassy,  306. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


23 


and  four  hundred  coolies,  employed  to  transport  the 
effects  of  the  embassy  and  the  presents  to  the  emperor 
and  high  officials.^ 

It  was  received  with  the  highest  marks  of  distinction 
by  the  Chinese  authorities ; but  when  Lord  Macartney 
met  the  emperor’s  representatives  to  ask  for  an  audi- 
ence, he  was  told  that  he  would  be  required  to  make 
the  prostrations  observed  at  all  ceremonies  attending  the 
audience  of  tribute-bearers.  Much  time  was  taken  up 
in  the  discussions  on  this  point,  but  finally  it  was  agreed 
that  the  ambassador  should  be  received  by  the  emperor 
kneeling  only  as  he  delivered  the  king’s  letter.  The 
emperor  was  at  Jehol,  an  imperial  hunting  lodge  some 
distance  north  of  the  Great  Wall,  and  thither  the  em- 
bassy had  to  wend  its  way.  When  the  audience  was 
over.  Lord  Macartney  was  told  that  the  business  of  his 
mission  would  be  discussed  with  the  emperor’s  ministers 
on  his  return  to  Peking.  But  he  had  scarcely  arrived  at 
the  capital  when  he  was  ordered  to  depart  and  quit  the 
country.  No  opportunity  was  afforded  him  to  dispatch 
or  even  to  discuss  the  business  which  had  brought  him 
on  this  long  and  expensive  journey,  and  the  entire  em- 
bassy had  been  kept  constantly  under  close  surveillance 
during  its  stay.  The  departure  was  effected  almost  with 
precipitation.  The  author  of  one  of  the  narratives  of 
the  embassy  writes  : We  entered  Peking  like  paupers  ; 

we  remained  in  it  like  prisoners ; and  we  quitted  it  like 
vagrants.”  ^ The  return  journey  was  made  overland  to 
Canton,  attended  by  high  mandarins  and  a display  of 

^ Narrative  of  British  Embassy,  Anderson,  Philadelphia,  1795,  p.  128. 

2 Ib.  237. 


24  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Chinese  etiquette  all  along  the  route.  It  is  said  that  the 
expenditures  of  the  imperial  government  alone  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  embassy  amounted  to  $850,000.^ 
One  of  the  principal  objects  of  the  mission  was  to 
obtain  the  privilege  to  trade  at  Ningpo,  Chusan,  Tientsin, 
and  other  ports  besides  Canton.  So  far  from  granting 
this  permission,  no  conference  respecting  it  was  held ; but 
the  emperor,  in  his  letter  of  reply  to  the  one  from  the 
king  of  England  handed  him  by  Lord  Macartney,  stated 
that  the  trade  must  be  confined  to  the  port  of  Canton. 
He  adds  : You  will  not  be  able  to  complain  that  I had 

not  clearly  forewarned  you.  Let  us  therefore  live  in 
peace  and  friendship,  and  do  not  make  light  of  my 
words.’’  Notwithstanding  this  rebufP,  the  king  of  Eng- 
land sent  return  presents  to  the  emperor  in  1795,  which 
were  received  at  Canton  and  transferred  overland  to 
Peking,  and  it  was  recorded  that  tribute  had  been  sent 
by  the  king  of  England  to  the  Son  of  Heaven.”  It  is 
said  that  the  English  were  henceforth  registered  among 
the  nations  who  had  sent  tribute-bearers,  and  that  the 
embassy  was  regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  one  of  the 
most  splendid  testimonials  of  respect  that  a tributary 
nation  had  ever  paid  their  court.^ 

The  embarrassments  to  British  trade  at  Canton  did 
not  cease  ; and  the  English  government,  not  discour- 
aged by  the  ill  success  of  its  last  embassy,  resolved  to 
dispatch  a second  one,  in  the  hope  of  securing  the 
establishment  of  a permanent  mission  at  Peking  and  the 

^ Travels  in  China,  by  John  Barrow,  London,  1804. 

2 2 Hist.  China,  GutzlafP,  194  ; 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  pp.  75-79  ; His- 
tory of  China,  Williams,  102  ; Letter  from  the  Emperor  of  China  to 
King  George  III.,  Nineteenth  Century,  July,  1896,  p.  45. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  RELATIONS 


25 


opening  of  other  ports  to  trade.  In  1815  a British 
man-of-war  with  two  consorts  arrived  off  Tientsin,  hav- 
ing on  board  Lord  Amherst,  governor-general  of  India, 
an  able  corps  of  assistants,  and  a numerous  suite.  They 
were  received  in  great  state  en  route,  and  escorted  to 
Peking.  On  his  arrival  there  Lord  Amherst  was  in- 
formed that  he  must  perform  the  kotou.  This  he  re- 
fused to  do,  pleading  the  precedent  of  Lord  Macartney’s 
visit,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  Chinese  were  obdurate, 
and  he  returned  to  his  man-of-war,  and  sailed  away  with- 
out seeing  the  emperor  or  discussing  his  business  with 
the  imperial  ministers.^ 

This  ended  the  efforts  of  Great  Britain  to  establish 
diplomatic  relations  with  China  until  an  accumulation 
of  causes  brought  the  two  nations  into  armed  conflict, 
and  marked  the  first  step  in  the  forcible  opening  of  the 
great  empire  to  intercourse  with  the  outside  world.  It 
was  the  aggressive  spirit  and  the  violent  conduct  of  the 
European  nations  which  led  the  Chinese  to  close  their 
ports  against  foreign  commerce,  and,  after  two  centiu-ies 
of  seclusion,  it  was  a like  influence  of  aggression  and 
violence  on  the  part  of  the  same  nations  which  was  des- 
tined to  compel  the  Chinese  to  reverse  their  policy  and 
again  to  open  their  ports  to  the  world.  The  first  act 
of  the  drama  was  played  before  the  United  States  had 
an  existence.  It  will  be  our  task  to  study  the  part 
which  the  young  republic  has  taken  in  the  second  act. 

1 Journal  of  Embassy  to  China,  by  Henry  Ellis,  London,  1817  ; 2 Hist. 
China,  GutzlafE,  207  ; 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  95. 


V 


II 


America’s  first  intercourse 

The  two  most  important  factors  in  bringing  the 
United  States  into  contact  with  the  countries  of  the 
Orient  have  been  commerce  and  Christian  missions. 
The  influence  of  the  latter  will  receive  attention  in  a 
subsequent  chapter.  The  extension  of  American  com- 
merce into  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  obstructed  by  the 
policy  of  exclusion  which  had  been  in  operation  for  two 
centuries,  and  in  the  few  ports  where  foreign  intercourse 
was  tolerated  it  was  conducted  under  very  adverse  condi- 
tions. The  cause  of  this  state  of  affairs  has  been  indi- 
cated in  the  preceding  chapter,  so  far  as  China  and  Japan 
were  concerned.  Much  the  same  conditions  existed  in 
the  other  countries,  brought  about  by  similar  causes. 

Several  of  the  European  nations  had  taken  possession 
by  force  of  various  islands  in  that  ocean,  occupied  by 
many  millions  of  people,  and  had  effected  permanent 
lodgment  on  the  continent  in  India  and  the  Malay 
Peninsula.  From  these  places  it  was  possible  to  estab- 
lish a large  trade  with  the  enormous  population  of  Asia ; 
but  at  the  date  of  the  independence  of  the  United 
States  and  for  many  years  thereafter  the  European  gov- 
ernments sought  to  reserve  the  trade  of  their  colonies 
and  dependencies  to  themselves.  Hence  it  was  a serious 
undertaking  for  a new  nation,  with  a novel  form  of 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE  27 

government  and  undeveloped  resources,  to  enter  into 
competition  for  its  share  of  the  commerce  of  the  islands 
in  and  the  countries  bordering  on  the  great  ocean.  But 
the  hardy  American  mariners,  who  had  been  trained  in 
the  fisheries  and  the  colonial  trade,  and  had  had  their 
courage  tested  in  the  Revolutionary  War  by  a contest 
with  the  greatest  maritime  power  of  the  world,  entered 
upon  this  competition  with  a spirit  of  enterprise  rarely 
equaled.  i 

In  the  first  year  after  the  treaty  of  peace  and  inde- 
pendence with  Great  Britain  was  signed,  on  the  30th 
of  August,  1784,  the  American  ship  The  Empress 
of  China,  of  New  York,  commanded  by  Captain  John 
Green,  with  Samuel  Shaw  as  supercargo,  bore  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  for  the  first  time  into  the  port  of 
Canton,  China.  The  record  of  the  voyage  and  ^he 
reception  of  the  vessel  in  China,  as  found  in  the  pub- 
lished narrative  and  the  report  made  to  the  govern- 
ment is  full  of  interest.  In  a letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  transmitted  to  the  Continental  Congress,  the 
supercargo  communicates,  for  the  information  of  the 
fathers  of  the  country,”  an  account  of  ^^the  respect 
with  which  their  flag  has  been  treated  in  that  distant 
region,  . . . and  the  attention  of  the  Chinese  attracted 
toward  a people  of  whom  they  have  hitherto  had  but 
very  confused  ideas  ; and  which  seemed  to  place  the 
Americans  in  a more  conspicuous  point  of  view  than 
has  commonly  attended  the  introduction  of  other  na- 
tions into  that  ancient  and  extensive  empire.”  ^ 

1 Samuel  Shaw’s  Journal,  with  Memoir  by  Josiah  Quincy,  1847 ; Report  to 
Secretary  Jay,  3 Diplomatic  Correspondence  of  the  U.  S.  1783-1789,  p.  761. 


28 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Nothing  eventful  occurred  on  the  outward  voyage  till 
they  met,  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda,  two  French  men-of- 
war,  also  bound  for  Canton,  whose  commander  greeted 
them  in  the  most  affectionate  manner,  and  under  the 
convoy  of  our  good  allies  ” the  vessel  safely  traversed 
the  unknown  Chinese  seas.'  On  its  arrival  at  Macao 
and  Canton  the  vessel  was  welcomed  by  salutes  from 
the  ships  of  all  nations  in  those  ports  and  by  visits  from 
the  officers  and  the  chiefs  of  all  the  European  establish- 
ments, and  treated  by  them  in  all  respects  as  a free 
and  independent  nation.’’  The  letter  says:  ^^The  Chi- 
nese were  very  indulgent  toward  us,  though  our  being 
the  first  American  ship  that  had  ever  visited  China,  it 
was  some  time  before  they  could  fully  comprehend  the 
distinction  between  Enghshmen  and  us.  They  styled 
us^he  new  people  ; and  when  by  the  map  we  conveyed 
to  them  an  idea  of  the  extent  of  our  country,  with  its 
present  and  increasing  population,  they  were  highly 
pleased  at  the  prospect  of  so  considerable  a market  for 
the  productions  of  theirs.”  It  concludes : “ To  every 
lover  of  his  country,  as  well  as  to  those  more  immedi- 
ately concerned  in  commerce,  it  must  be  a pleasing 
reflection  that  a communication  is  thus  happily  opened 
between  us  and  the  eastern  extreme  of  the  globe.” 

Other  vessels  followed  this  venture  into  Chinese  waters, 
and  within  a few  years  they  were  successfully  sharing 


1 The  attentions  of  the  French  commodore  were  brought  to  the  notice 
of  the  Continental  Congress  by  Secretary  Jay,  and  Mr.  JefEerson,  the 
minister  in  Paris,  was  instructed  to  convey  the  thanks  of  Congress  to  the 
French  government  for  the  valuable  services  of  its  navy.  3 Diplomatic 
Correspondence,  1783-1789,  p.  767. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


.29 


in  the  traffic.  Gutzlaff,  the  German  historian,  writing 
of  this  period,  says,  the  Americans  ploughed  the  wide 
ocean  in  every  direction.  The  high  principles  they 
cherish,  the  excellent  constitution  under  which  they  live, 
the  industrious  spirit  which  pervades  the  whole  nation, 
imparted  vigor  and  perseverance  to  the  American  mer- 
chant.” ^ As  evidence  of  their  daring,  he  cites  the  ship 
Alliance  which  sailed  from  Philadelphia  in  1788.  She 
was  not  furnished  with  any  charts  on  board,  but  made 
her  voyage  to  China  solely  with  the  assistance  of  a 
general  map  of  the  world,  and  never  let  go  an  anchor 
from  the  time  she  left  Philadelphia  till  she  reached 
Canton.  Captain  Krusenstern,  of  the  Russian-  navy, 
who,  under  orders  of  Alexander  I.,  made  a voyage 
around  the  world  in  1803  and  spent  much  time  in  the 
North  Pacific,  speaks  in  high  praise  of  the  early  Amer- 
ican mariners  and  merchants.  The  spirit  of  com- 
merce,” he  says,  ^^is  perhaps  nowhere  greater  than  in 
America.  Being  skillful  seamen,  they  man  their  ships 
with  a smaller  crew,  in  which  respect  it  appears  almost 
impossible  to  excel  them.  Their  vessels  are,  besides,  so 
admirably  constructed  that  they  sail  better  than  many 
ships  of  war.  . . . The  Americans  avail  themselves 
quickly  of  every  advantage  that  is  offered  them  in 
trade.”  ^ As  indicating  the  state  of  intercommunication 
before  the  era  of  steam  we  note  his  statement  of  what 
was  regarded  as  a remarkable  evidence  of  speed  and 
skill  in  navigation,  that  he  met  American  captains  in 

1 2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  266. 

2 2 Voyage  Round  the  World,  under  Capt.  A.  J.  von  Krusenstern, 
translation,  London,  1813,  p.  332. 


30  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Canton  who  had  made  the  voyage  from  thence  to  the 
United  States  and  return  in  ten  months. 

At  the  time  under  consideration  our  vessels  in  the 
China  trade  did  not  always  pursue  a direct  course  be- 
tween the  home  port  and  Canton.  Not  infrequently 
they  took  on  cargo  and  cleared  for  the  east  coast  of 
Africa^  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  British  or  Portuguese 
stations  in  India,  or  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  where  they 
bartered  American  goods  for  articles  of  those  countries 
wanted  in  China,  and  reaching  Canton,  received  in 
exchange  teas,  silks,  and  porcelains.  In  such  voyages 
they  were  often  exposed  to  danger  from  savage  tribes 
or  the  pirates  who  infested  the  Pacific  seas.  The  ves- 
sels engaged  in  this  trade  carried  quite  a formidable 
armament  of  cannon  and  small  arms.  Delano,  who  was 
one  of  the  earliest  voyagers  to  the  Pacific,  gives  an 
account  of  the  construction  of  a ship  in  Boston  in 
1789,  the  Massachusetts,  built  expressly  for  the  Canton 
trade.”  He  says  : Our  ship  was  pierced  for  thirty-six 

guns,  but  our  armament  was  twenty  six-pounders  and 
musketry.”  He  describes  the  outfitting  of  other  vessels 
destined  for  Canton  after  a sealing  voyage  : “ The  Per- 
severance mounted  twelve  six-pound  cannon,  and  the 
Pilgrim  mounted  six  guns,  from  nine-pound  carronades 
to  four-pound  fortified  cannon,  having  all  parts  of  their 
armament  fitted  in  the  best  manner  to  correspond  with 
their  number  of  guns.”  ^ 

An  enterprise  which  largely  interested  the  early  Amer- 

^ 47  North  American  Review,  414  ; Shaw’s  Reports,  3 Dip.  Cor.  774, 
777,  778  ; A Narrative  of  Voyages,  etc.,  by  A.  Delano,  Boston,  1817,  pp. 
21,  25,  33,  420  ; Harper’s  Magazine,  October,  1898,  p.  739. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


31 


ican  traders  was  the  China  fur  trade.  Before  their 
advent  into  these  waters,  the  Chinese  supply  of  furs, 
which  were  greatly  in  demand  in  that  country,  came 
through  Europe.  The  Americans  later  almost  entirely 
monopolized  the  fur  trade.  Their  practice  was  to  clear 
for  the  South  Seas,  where  at  that  period  the  fur  seals 
greatly  abounded,  slaughter  the  animals,  load  their  ves- 
sels with  the  skins,  take  them  to  Canton  and  exchange 
them  for  tea  and  other  Chinese  commodities,  which  were 
carried  to  the  United  States  and  Europe.  The  other 
source  of  supply  of  sealskins  was  in  the  North  Pacific. 
The  Russians  had  for  many  years  a monopoly  of  that 
supply,  but  not  being  permitted  to  trade  at  Canton  they 
were  forced  to  carry  the  furs  overland,  via  Siberia,  to 
Kiakhta,  and  thence  to  Chinese  markets.  Within  a 
few  years  after  independence  the  American  vessels  were 
largely  engaged  in  the  traffic  in  seal  and  otter  skins 
and  other  furs  from  the  northwest  coast  of  America  to 
Canton,  and  it  proved  most  profitable.  The  statistics 
of  Canton  show  that  in  1800  the  American  vessels 
engaged  in  the  fur  trade,  in  addition  to  large  importa- 
tions of  otter  and  other  furs,  brought  325,000  seal- 
skins; in  1801  the  import  of  sealskins  was  427,000; 
in  1802,  343,000  ; and  it  is  stated  that  the  tonnage 
employed  in  procuring  skins  for  these  periods  was  nearly 
one  half  of  the  whole  tonnage  in  the  China  trade.^ 

On  the  return  from  Canton  of  the  pioneer  vessel,  a 
report  of  her  voyage  was  made  to  John  Jay,  then  secre- 

1 A Statistical  View,  etc.,  of  the  United  States,  by  Thomas  Pitkin,  New 
York,  1817,  p.  249,  and  Appendix  vii.  ; 3 Chinese  Repository,  557  ; 
Delano’s  Voyages,  306. 


32  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

tary  for  foreign  affairs  of  the  Continental  Congress,  by 
Major  Samuel  Shaw,  supercargo  of  the  Empress  of 
China,  as  already  stated.  Secretary  Jay  transmitted 
this  report  to  Congress,  and  on  June  23,  1785,  he 
informed  Major  Shaw  ^Hhat  Congress  feel  a peculiar 
satisfaction  in  the  successful  issue  of  this  first  effort  of 
the  citizens  of  America  to  establish  a direct  trade  with 
China,  which  does  so  much  to  honor  its  undertakers  and 
conductors.’’  Under  date  of  January  20,  1786,  Secre- 
tary Jay  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the  fact 
that  American  merchants  were  beginning  to  turn  to  the 
China  and  India  trade,  and  that  in  the  course  of  that 
year  several  vessels  would  probably  be  engaged  in  it, 
and  he  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  Congress  the 
propriety  of  appointing  a consul  and  vice  consul  general 
for  Canton  and  other  ports  in  Asia. 

Prompt  and  favorable  action  on  this  recommendation 
was  taken  by  Congress,  in  the  election  of  Major  Shaw 
as  consul  at  Canton  on  January  27,  and  on  the  30th  of 
the  same  month  Secretary  Jay  transmitted  to  him  his 
commission.  In  his  letter  of  transmittal  he  says. 
Although  neither  salary  nor  perquisites  are  annexed 
to  it,  yet  so  distinguished  a mark  of  the  confidence  and 
esteem  of  the  United  States  will  naturally  give  you  a 
degree  of  weight  and  respectability  which  the  highest 
personal  merit  cannot  very  soon  obtain  for  a stranger 
in  a foreign  country.”  ^ The  appointee  was  a man 
worthy  of  the  honor.  He  had  served  with  the  rank  of 
major  of  artillery  on  the  staff  of  General  Knox  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem 
3 Dip.  Cor.  766,  769  ; 3 Secret  Journals  of  Congress,  605. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


33 


by  tbe  general  and  his  brother  officers.  After  the  war 
he  visited  India  and  China,  and  on  his  return  from  that 
voyage  entered  the  War  Department,  under  General 
Knox,  as  a clerk,  and  was  holding  that  position  when 
appointed  consul  at  Canton.  Captain  Delano,  who 
knew  him  well  both  at  home  and  in  China,  writes : 
He  was  a man  of  fine  talents  and  considerable  cultiva- 
tion ; he  placed  so  high  a value  upon  the  sentiments  of 
honor  that  some  of  his  friends  thought  it  was  carried 
to  excess.  He  was  candid,  just,  and  generous,  faithful 
to  his  friendships,  an  agreeable  companion,  and  manly 
in  all  his  intercourse.”  ^ 

Consul  Shaw’s  first  report,  December  31,  1786,  gives 
an  account  of  the  manner  of  conducting  the  trade  at 
Canton.  From  it  and  from  contemporaneous  sources 
the  following  facts  are  obtained.  Vessels  arriving  in 
Chinese  waters  to  trade  were  required  first  to  report  at 
Macao,  a Portuguese  establishment,  located  on  a penin- 
sula near  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  which  Canton  is 
situated.  The  Portuguese  in  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  secured  the  privilege  of  occupying  the 
point  of  land,  and  built  up  a considerable  settlement 
there  with  the  right  to  control  their  own  local  affairs, 
under  the  supervision  of  a resident  Chinese  official. 
They  were,  however,  not  permitted  to  exercise  sover- 
eignty over  the  territory,  and  were  required  to  pay  an- 
nually a ground-rent  to  the  Chinese  government.  For- 
eign vessels,  upon  reporting  to  the  native  authorities 
at  Macao,  were  granted  permits  to  ascend  the  river  to 
Whampoa,  fourteen  miles  below  Canton,  where  all  of 

^ Delano’s  Voyages,  21. 


34 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


them  were  moored.  At  this  point  the  supercargoes  made 
the  necessary  arrangements  with  the  customs  officials  for 
disposing  of  their  cargoes,  the  first  step  being  to  pro- 
cure a fiador,  a person  to  become  surety  for  the  pay- 
ment of  the  government  duties  and  fees.  This  person 
was  a licensed  Chinese  merchant.  It  was  also  neces- 
sary to  secure  a linguist,  a Chinese,  who  acted  as 
ship’s  broker  and  interpreter  in  all  transactions  with 
the  custom-house,  which  was  in  the  city  where  no  for- 
eigners were  admitted,  and  he  attended  to  the  discharge 
and  transportation  of  the  cargo  to  Canton. 

The  trade  or  bartering  of  the  merchandise  brought 
by  the  ships  was  conducted  by  the  co-hong,  which  con- 
sisted of  a body  of  from  ten  to  thirteen  Chinese,  called 
the  hong  merchants.  These  men  ranked  among  the 
most  wealthy  and  respectable  inhabitants  of  Canton  ; 
they  paid  largely  for  the  privilege  of  entering  the  co- 
hong, and  when  admitted  became  permanent  members 
of  it ; they  had  extensive  establishments  and  numerous 
and  convenient  warehouses  ; and  the  co-hong  was  made 
the  medium  of  all  communication  of  the  authorities  of 
Canton  and  the  imperial  government  with  the  foreign 
merchants  and  other  foreigners.  The  cargoes  were  im- 
loaded  at  Whampoa  into  Chinese  boats  and  taken  to 
the  landing  outside  the  walls  of  Canton.  Here  the 
merchandise  was  transferred  to  the  hong  merchants, 
who  agreed  on  the  prices  at  which  they  would  pur- 
chase, and  fixed  those  of  their  own  goods  in  return. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  power  and  advantage  con- 
ferred upon  the  co-hong  by  this  system,  Consul  Shaw 
reports  to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  they  “ are  a set 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


35 


of  as  respectable  men  as  are  commonly  found  in  other 
ports  of  the  world.  They  are  intelligent,  exact  account- 
ants, punctual  to  their  engagements,  and,  though  not 
worse  for  being  well  looked  after,  value  themselves 
much  upon  maintaining  a fair  character.  The  concur- 
rent testimony  of  all  the  Europeans  justifies  this  re- 
mark.’’ Forty  years  later  a well-known  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  a junior  partner  in  an  American  house 
at  Canton  in  1834,  John  M.  Forbes,  of  Boston,  spoke 
in  the  highest  terms  of  the  strict  honor  of  the  Chinese 
merchants,  and  said,  never  saw  in  any  country  such 
a high  average  of  fair  dealing  as  there.” 

Among  other  requirements  of  the  trade  was  the  em- 
ployment by  every  ship  of  a comprador^  a person  who 
furnished  the  provisions,  supphes,  and  other  necessities, 
which  must  all  come  through  him,  and  at  prices  fixed 
by  him,  which  was  a source  of  much  imposition.  While 
the  hong  merchants  maintained  a high  reputation,  the 
small  dealers  were  reported  to  be  crafty  and  dishonest, 
and  the  trade  was  greatly  embarrassed  by  the  prevail- 
ing bribery  and  smuggling.  The  regular  salary  of  the 
hoppo,  or  collector  of  customs,  was  about  $4000  per 
annum,  though  his  income  was  reported  to  be  not  less 
than  $100,000. 

In  the  time  of  Consul  Shaw  and  for  many  years 
thereafter  no  foreigner  was  allowed  to  remain  on  Chi- 
nese territory  at  or  in  the  vicinity  of  Canton,  but  as 
soon  as  the  exchange  of  commodities  was  over  and  the 
vessels  ready  to  sail  on  their  return  voyage,  the  foreign 
merchants,  supercargoes,  and  agents  had  to  go  to  Macao 
and  remain  there  for  the  rest  of  the  year  or  till  another 


36  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

vessel  arrived.  Consul  Shaw  says  that  on  the  whole, 
the  situation  of  the  Europeans  is  not  enviable,  . . . and 
it  must  be  allowed  that  they  dearly  earn  their  money.”  ^ 

The  American  commerce  with  Canton,  the  only  port 
in  China  with  which  any  trade  was  permitted,  soon  as- 
sumed considerable  proportions.  The  second  year  after 
the  first  vessel  reached  Canton,  1786,  five  American 
merchant  ships  arrived  in  port,  and  three  years  later, 
1789,  fifteen,  which  made  the  trade  of  the  United  States 
second  only  to  that  of  Great  Britain.  In  1800  twenty- 
three  American  vessels  visited  Canton,  and  the  value  of 
their  export  cargoes  was  $2,500,000;  and  in  1801 
thirty-four  vessels  with , exports  valued  at  $3,700,000. 
For  the  year  1805,  the  exports  to  the  United  States 
from  Canton  amounted  to  $5,300,000,  and  the  imports 
to  $5,100,000,  and  for  the  four  years  ending  with  1807, 
the  exports  averaged  annually  $4,200,000,  and  the  im- 
ports $4,100,000,  and  the  average  arrival  of  vessels 
was  thirty-six.^  The  entire  commerce  of  the  United 
States  at  that  period  was  comparatively  small,  and  the 
trade  with  China  constituted  a very  considerable  part 
of  it,  and  was  relatively  much  greater  then  than  at  the 
present  day;  but  the  foregoing  figures  may  give  a 
somewhat  exaggerated  idea  of  the  aggregate  trade. 
No  statistics  are  available  in  the  Treasury  Department 

1 3 Dip.  Cor.  781  ; 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  34  ; 2 Chinese  Repository, 
301,  302  ; 1 Letters  and  Recollections  of  John  M.  Forbes,  Boston,  1899, 
p.  86  ; 2 Remarks  on  China  and  the  Chinese  Trade,  by  R.  B.  Forbes, 
Boston,  1844.  For  account  of  Macao,  An  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Por- 
tuguese Settlements  in  China,  by  A.  L.  Jungstedt,  Boston,  1836. 

2 Statistical  View  of  U.  S.,  Pitkin,  246  ; 2 Hist.  China,  Gutzlaff,  270, 
and  tables  of  appendix  ; 2 Chinese  Repository,  300. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


37 


of  the  commerce  with  China  before  1821,  and  the  fore- 
going figures  are  taken  from  the  returns  of  the  Canton 
custom-house.  But  we  have  seen  that  American  ves- 
sels were  at  that  early  period  engaged  in  an  indirect 
trade,  and  in  addition  it  is  known  that  they  were  also 
carrying  on  a considerable  traffic  from  Canton  with 
Mexico,  Peru,  and  Chili ; but  if  the  large  amount  of 
smuggled  goods  is  estimated,  which  do  not  appear  in 
the  returns,  the  relative  proportions  will  not  be  mate- 
rially changed.  One  reason  for  the  enterprise  and  suc- 
cess of  the  American  trade  in  the  East  may  be  found 
in  its  entire  freedom  from  governmental  restraint,  while 
that  of  the  European  countries  was  controlled  by  the 
monopolies  of  the  various  East  India  companies. 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  any  accurate  estimate  of  the 
profits  of  the  Chinese  trade,  but  a reading  of  the  narra- 
tives of  early  voyages  and  of  other  contemporaneous  ac- 
counts shows  that  it  was  usually  large  and  that  it  was 
highly  prized.  Consul  Shaw  states  that  the  privilege 
of  private  trade  was  allowed  to  English  captains  in  the 
East  India  Company’s  service,  and  that  in  a vessel  of 
eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  tons  this  privilege  was 
worth  from  $25,000  to  $35,000  per  voyage.  Captain 
Krusenstern  mentions  in  his  voyages  meeting  in  Can- 
ton an  American  vessel  of  less  than  one  hundred  tons 
which  in  a single  voyage  from  the  northwest  coast  of 
America,  with  a cargo  of  furs,  realized  $60,000  on  an 
investment  of  $9000.  Other  voyages  are  given  where 
a capital  of  $40,000  yielded  a return  of  $150,000;  and 
one  of  $50,000  gave  a gross  return  of  $284,000.  The 
merchants  of  the  New  England  ports  in  the  early  part  of 


38 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  last  century  reaped  a rich  harvest  from  this  traffic. 
In  Boston  alone  the  foundation  of  large  fortunes  was 
laid  in  the  Canton  trade.  A list  of  the  names  of  its 
merchants  having  houses  in  that  place  wiU  indicate 
this,  among  whom  are  found  the  well-known  names  of 
Perkins,  Cabot,  Sturgis,  Forbes,  Russell,  Cushing,  and 
Coolidge.^ 

The  attention  of  the  first  Congress  of  the  United 
States  assembled  under  the  Constitution  of  1787  was 
called  to  the  importance  of  affording  encouragement 
and  protection  to  American  commerce  with  China,  and 
the  second  act  passed  by  that  body  imposed  a discrimi- 
nating duty  on  tea  and  other  goods  imported  in  vessels 
other  than  those  owned  by  American  citizens.  The  in- 
terest of  our  merchants  in  that  trade  is  also  shown  by 
petitions  to  Congress  from  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
other  cities,  praying  the  protection  and  encourage- 
ment of  the  general  government,  either  by  prohibiting 
foreigners  from  interfering  in  the  trade,  or  making  a 
greater  distinction  than  now  exists  between  the  duties 
imposed  upon  goods  imported  immediately  from  Asia 
and  those  brought  by  the  way  of  Europe.” 

Consul  Shaw  died  in  1794,  while  en  route  to  the 
United  States  on  a visit,  and  was  buried  at  sea  off  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  He  was  succeeded  by  Samuel 
Snow.  The  business  which  seemed  most  to  occupy  the 
latter’s  attention,  judging  from  the  consular  records  in 
the  Department  of  State,  was  obtaining  the  permission 

^ 3 Dip.  Cor.  781  ; 25  N.  A.  Rev.  458,  464  ; Sturgis’s  Northwest  Fur 
Trade,  Hunt’s  Mag.  xiv.  536,  537  ; Hist.  Northwest  Coast,  Bancroft, 
373,  376  ; 1 Forbes’s  Recollections,  chaps.  3 and  4. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


39 


of  the  Portuguese  government  for  him  to  reside  at 
Macao.  As  stated,  all  foreigners  were  prohibited  from 
remaining  at  Canton,  none  could  reside  at  Macao  with- 
out the  express  permission  of  the  Portuguese  govern- 
ment, and  it  was  necessary  that  it  should  be  secured  for 
the  consul  upon  the  application  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 
It  does  not  appear  that  the  permit  was  ever  received,  but 
he  continued  his  residence  on  sufferance.^ 

Edward  Carrington  was  consular  agent  in  1804,  and 
for  several  years  his  chief  occupation  seems  to  have 
been  to  put  forth  ineffectual  efforts  to  obtain  the 
release  of  sailors  taken  from  American  ships  in  the 
ports  of  Macao  and  Canton  by  British  warships  and 
impressed  into  the  naval  service,  a state  of  affairs,  he 
remarks,  so  humiliating  to  every  friend  of  his  coun- 
try.” It  appears  that  the  far-away  waters  of  China 
were  no  more  exempt  than  those  of  the  Atlantic  from 
the  high-handed  violence  and  disregard  of  maritime 
rights  by  Great  Britain  which  brought  on  the  war  of 
1812.^  And  the  effects  of  this  war  were  likewise  felt 
on  the  coast  of  China.  The  American  trade  was  nearly 
suspended,  only  an  average  of  six  vessels  arriving  annu- 
ally during  the  war.  The  consul  reports  the  exchange 
of  prisoners  in  the  port  of  Macao  between  an  Ameri- 
can private  armed  vessel  ” and  a British  warship,  and 
at  another  time  of  the  release  by  the  commander  of 
the  Doris,  and  the  receipt  given  by  the  consul,  of  the 

1 1 U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  chap.  2,  p.  25  ; Annals  of  Congress,  1791-3, 
pp.  427,  431 ; Consular  Archives,  Department  of  State,  1802-3. 

2 Consular  Archives,  1804-6  ; H.  Ex.  Doc.  71,  p.  4,  26th  Cong.  2d  Sess.; 
Delano’s  Voyages,  530. 


40 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


passengers  and  crew  of  a Boston  vessel,  ^^altho/’  he 
writes  the  department,  did  not  consider  them  prison- 
ers of  war,  they  having  been  taken  under  the  Chinese 
flag  and  in  neutral  waters.” 

This  action  of  the  Doris,  in  cruising  off  the  port  of 
Canton  and  seizing  American  ships  in  Chinese  waters, 
gave  great  offense  to  the  local  authorities,  who  ordered 
the  man-of-war  to  leave,  saying  that  if  the  English  and 
Americans  had  any  petty  squabbles,”  they  must  settle 
them  between  themselves  and  not  bring  them  to  China. 
Upon  a refusal  of  the  Doris  to  depart,  all  trade  with 
the  British  merchants  was  temporarily  suspended.  The 
American  consul  not  only  complained  of  the  bad  con- 
duct of  the  commander  of  the  Doris,  but  he  reports 
that  it  was  equaled  by  the  pusillanimous  conduct  of 
the  governor  of  Macao,”  who  allowed  that  port  to  be 
made  a base  of  operations  for  the  British  to  prey  upon 
American  commerce.^ 

After  the  war  was  over  the  commerce  soon  revived, 
and  nothing  occurred  to  disturb  it  until  the  event  in 
1821  known  as  the  ^^Terranova  affair,”  which  attracted 
general  attention  on  the  part  of  foreigners.  An  Ital- 
ian sailor  of  the  crew  of  an  American  vessel  anchored  in 
the  river  dropped  or  threw  an  earthen  jar  overboard,  by 
which  a Chinese  woman  in  a boat  was  killed.  It  was 
contended  that  the  deed  was  accidental.  The  authori- 
ties demanded  his  surrender  for  trial.  The  captain  of 
the  vessel  stoutly  refused  to  deliver  him,  but  agreed  to 
his  trial  by  the  authorities  on  the  ship,  in  order  to  insure 

1 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  93  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  105  ; Consular  Ar- 
chives, 1812-15. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


41 


a fair  decision.  The  ship  was  invaded  and  surrounded 
by  Chinese  forces,  and  there  was  no  alternative  but  his 
surrender.  It  was  followed  by  the  mockery  of  a trial, 
he  was  executed,  and  his  body  was  returned  to  the  ship. 
While  the  dispute  was  pending  the  American  trade  was 
suspended.  After  the  execution,  the  viceroy  of  Canton 
issued  an  edict,  saying  that  as  the  Americans  had  be- 
haved submissively,  it  is  proper  to  open  their  trade 
in  order  to  manifest  our  compassion.  The  Celestial 
Empire’s  kindness  and  favor  to  the  weak  is  rich  in  an 
infinite  degree ; but  the  nation’s  dignity  sternly  com- 
mands respect,  and  cannot,  because  people  are  foreigners, 
extend  clemency.  . . . Now  it  is  written  in  the  law 
when  persons  outside  the  pale  of  Chinese  civilization 
shall  commit  crimes  they  too  shaU  be  punished  accord- 
ing to  law.  I,  therefore,  ordered  them  to  take  the  said 
foreigner  and,  according  to  law,  strangle  him,  to  dis- 
play luminously  the  laws  of  the  Empire.  In  every  sim- 
ilar case  foreigners  ought  to  give  up  murderers,  and 
thus  they  will  act  becoming  the  tenderness  and  gra- 
cious kindness  with  which  the  Celestial  Empire  treats 
them.”  The  government  of  the  United  States  was 
severely  criticised  for  taking  no  action  in  the  matter.^ 
After  this  event  American  affairs  at  Canton  passed  on 
without  occurrences  of  moment,  the  trade  being  main- 
tained with  satisfactory  results.  In  the  course  of  time 
the  Chinese  relaxed  somewhat  the  strictness  of  the  reg- 
ulations. In  the  narratives  between  1830  and  1840 
we  find  that  foreign  merchants  had  been  permitted  to 

1 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  105  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  108  ; 2 Hist. 
China,  Gutzlaff,  267 ; H.  Ex.  Doc.  71,  pp.  9-52,  26th  Cong.  2d  Sess. 


42  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

establish  themselves  on  the  bank  of  the  river  just  out- 
side of  the  walls  of  Canton,  and  occupied  substantial 
and  commodious  establishments  of  brick  or  granite,  and 
the  settlement  was  assuming  a permanent  foreign  char- 
acter, with  churches,  newspapers  and  other  adjuncts. 
In  1832,  when  the  port  was  visited  by  Mr.  Roberts,  the 
American  envoy  en  route  to  negotiate  treaties  with  Siam 
and  Muscat,  he  reports,  besides  the  East  India  Company’s 
establishment,  nine  British  mercantile  houses,  seven 
American,  one  French,  and  one  Dutch ; and  one  British 
and  one  American  hotel.  The  style  of  hving  was  quite 
luxurious,  with  an  abundance  of  servants,  but  there  was 
said  to  be  lacking  one  essential  element  to  make  domes- 
tic enjoyment  complete  — the  Chinese  forbade  the  pre- 
sence of  foreign  women.  This  prohibition,  however,  was 
removed  soon  after  that  date.  The  Chinese  plenipo- 
tentiaries who  negotiated  the  first  treaty  with  Great 
Britain  gave  the  emperor  the  following  reason  for  this 
concession : The  barbarians  are  influenced  by  their 

women,  and  governed  by  natural  affection.  The  pre- 
sence of  females  at  the  ports  would  therefore  soften 
their  natures,  and  give  us  less  anxiety  as  to  outbreaks. 
If  they  are  settled  at  our  ports  with  aU  that  is  dear  to 
them,  and  with  storehouses  full  of  goods,  they  will  be 
in  our  power  and  prove  more  manageable.”  ^ 

Notwithstanding  the  somewhat  improved  condition 
of  the  trade  just  indicated,  the  Americans,  in  common 
with  all  foreigners,  labored  under  many  embarrassments. 

^ Embassy  to  Eastern  Courts,  by  Edmund  Roberts,  New  York,  1837, 
p.  130  ; 5 Chinese  Repository,  426  ; 1 China  during  the  War,  etc.,  by  Sir 
John  F.  Davis,  London,  1852,  p.  300  ; Delano’s  Voyages,  540. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


43 


Bribery  and  smuggling  were  conducted  with  the  con- 
nivance of  the  authorities.  No  direct  means  were 
afforded  the  foreigners  to  communicate  directly  with 
the  local  or  imperial  authorities  for  redress  of  their 
grievances,  as  all  intercourse  with  them  was  conducted 
through  the  hong  merchants.  The  consuls  were  not 
recognized  in  any  way  by  the  authorities,  nor  were 
they  even  allowed  to  communicate  with  them.  They 
affected  to  despise  trade  as  unworthy  of  their  exalted 
station.  The  consuls  were  looked  upon  as  the  mere 
chiefs  of  the  mercantile  houses,  and  possessed  no  power 
or  jurisdiction  over  their  citizens  or  subjects  frequent- 
ing the  ports  other  than  such  as  the  latter  chose  to 
concede  to  them.  As  late  as  1839  the  consul  at 
Canton,  in  writing  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  called 
attention  to  some  humiliating  demands  of  the  author- 
ities sought  to  be  required  of  him  in  the  form  of  his 
correspondence,  and  says : These  trifles  seem  to  show 

their  determination  never  to  permit  a foreign  nation  to 
presume  on  an  equality  with  their  own.”  The  arbitrary 
course  frequently  taken  by  the  authorities  of  Canton 
against  foreign  shipping  and  merchants  is  explained  by 
the  fundamental  maxims  of  Chinese  intercourse  with 
foreigners,  some  of  which  are  as  follows : The  bar- 

barians are  like  beasts,  and  not  to  be  ruled  on  the  same 
principles  as  natives.  Were  any  one  to  attempt  con- 
trolling them  by  the  great  maxims  of  reason,  it  would 
tend  to  nothing  but  confusion.  The  ancient  kings 
well  understood  this,  and  accordingly  ruled  barbarians 
with  misrule.”  The  term  barbarian  ” was  the  usual 
epithet  applied  to  all  foreigners,  much  in  the  same 


44 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


spirit  in  which  the  term  was  used  by  the  ancient  Greeks 
as  including  all  who  were  outside  of  their  civilization 
and  ciilture.  For  instance,  in  an  official  report  of  a 
customs  employee  of  Canton  we  find  such  expressions 
as  the  following : The  barbarian  Marks,  [a  merchant] 

residing  in  the  English  devil  factory;  . . . the  bar- 
barian Just,  residing  in  the  French  devil  factory.” 
Twenty  years  later  Lord  Elgin,  backed  by  a British 
fleet  and  army,  in  a dispatch  informing  his  govern- 
ment that  he  had  made  the  Chinese  retract  the  word 
‘‘  barbarian  ” in  an  imperial  decree,  candidly  says : “ I 
confess  that  I very  much  doubt  whether  they  have  any 
other  term  which  conveys  to  the  Chinese  population  the 
idea  of  a foreigner.”  ^ 

We  have  seen  that  the  British  and  other  European 
governments  had  made  vain  efforts,  by  imposing  em- 
bassies sent  to  Peking,  to  establish  political  intercourse 
and  secure  greater  facilities  for  trade.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  occupied  a more  favorable 
position  with  the  Chinese  authorities  than  those  of 
Europe  because  of  the  fact  that  its  intercourse  had 
been  marked  by  no  violence  or  offensive  disregard  of 
the  imperial  policy  or  regulations,  and  that  it  had  man- 
ifested no  disposition  to  despoil  the  nations  of  the 
Pacific  of  their  territory.  But  the  Chinese  government 
had  shown  such  a deep-rooted  prejudice  against  for- 
eigners and  so  determined  a policy  of  exclusion  that  it 
seemed  useless  for  the  United  States  to  attempt  to  open 

1 Consular  Archives,  1839  ; 1 The  Chinese,  Davis,  68  ; N.  A.  Review, 
1860,  p.  163.  As  to  American  consuls  and  their  status,  5 Chinese  Re- 
pository, 219  ; 6 Ib.  103. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


45 


up  political  relations,  notwithstanding  the  great  neces- 
sity felt  by  American  merchants  for  better  protection 
and  freer  commerce.  But  the  trade  with  the  Pacific 
countries  had  become  so  important  and  profitable,  and 
was  in  such  an  unprotected  condition,  that  the  govern- 
ment found  itseK  impelled  to  the  adoption  of  measures 
for  the  improvement  of  its  commercial  relations  with 
these  countries. 

The  exposed  condition  of  this  commerce  attracted 
general  attention  because  of  the  murder  of  the  crew 
and  the  plundering  of  the  ship  Friendship,  of  Salem, 
Mass.,  in  1831,  by  the  natives  of  Sumatra.  The  melan- 
choly event  was  twice  referred  to  by  President  Jackson 
in  messages  to  Congress,  and  was  the  immediate  cause 
of  the  dispatch  of  a special  agent  by  the  government, 
Tvdth  two  naval  vessels,  for  the  purpose  of  examining, 
in  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  means  of  extending  the  com- 
merce of  the  United  States  by  commercial  arrange- 
ments with  the  Powers  whose  dominions  border  on 
these  seas.”^  Edmund  Roberts,  of  New  Hampshire,  a 
large  ship-owner,  who  had  spent  much  time  abroad 
engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  and  who  had  visited 
the  Eastern  countries  and  become  acquainted  with  the 
condition  of  affairs  in  that  distant  region,  had,  through 
Senator  W oodbury,  of  his  State,  previously  urged  upon 
the  government  the  propriety  and  timeliness  of  mea- 
sures for  the  enlargement  and  better  protection  of 
American  commerce  in  the  Pacific.  The  President  was 
stirred  to  action  by  the  unfortunate  disaster  to  the 

1 2 Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  by  J.  D.  Richardson,  Wash- 
ington, 1896,  pp.  661,  696  ; Treaties  of  the  U.  S.,  1887,  p.  1380. 


46 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Friendship,  and  Mr.  Koherts  was  selected  and  dis- 
patched on  his  mission  in  the  United  States  ship  Pea- 
cock, accompanied  by  a naval  schooner,  in  1832.  Trade 
had  already  been  established  with  Siam  and  Muscat, 
but  was  conducted  under  embarrassing  conditions.  As 
early  as  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  a liberal 
monarch  of  Siam  had  entered  into  relations  with  the 
English,  Dutch,  and  French.  Louis  XIV.  of  France 
had  sent  imposing  embassies  to  Siam  and  negotiated 
with  the  king  treaties  of  amity  and  commerce  ; ^ and 
when  the  United  States  attained  independence  its  ad- 
venturous seamen  profited  by  this  established  commer- 
cial intercourse,  but  the  trade  was  subject  to  pecuniary 
extortions  and  vexatious  impositions.  It  was  deter- 
mined that  the  first  efforts  towards  treaty  negotiations 
should  be  with  Muscat,  Siam,  and  possibly  Annam, 
leaving  China  and  Japan  to  a later  and  more  propitious 
time. 

Clothed  with  full  powers  to  negotiate  treaties  and 
bearing  autograph  letters  from  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  the  sovereigns  of  the  countries  named, 
Mr.  Roberts  passed  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  sailed 
first  for  Manila  and  Canton,  and  thence  to  the  countries 
to  which  he  was  accredited.  Upon  his  return  to  the 
United  States  he  writes  that  the  unprotected  state  of 
the  trade  from  the  Cape  to  the  eastern  coast  of  Japan 
was  painfully  impressed  upon  him.  Not  a single  man- 
of-war  was  seen  waving  the  national  flag  over  its  exten- 
sive commerce  in  that  wide  region ; the  merchantmen 

^ Relations  de  la  France  et  du  Royaume  de  Siam,  Lanier,  Versailles, 
1883. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


47 


were  totally  unprotected.  He  cites  the  fact  that  in  a 
single  year  one  hundred  and  one  American  ships  visited 
the  ports  of  Java,  and  he  looked  hopefully  forward  to 
the  time  when  the  hardy  sons  of  the  ocean,  while  filling 
the  coffers  of  their  country,  might  enjoy  the  protection 
of  their  country’s  flag. 

The  treatment  of  the  Peacock  on  the  arrival  of  Mr. 
Roberts  at  Canton  illustrates  the  spirit  of  the  authori- 
ties at  that  single  commercial  port  of  China.  As  soon 
as  the  imperial  commissioner  was  informed  of  her 
arrival  off  the  port,  he  issued  an  edict,  in  which  he 
stated  that  having  ascertained  that  the  said  cruiser  is 
not  a merchant-ship,  nor  a convoy,  and  that  she  has  on 
board  an  unusual  number  of  seamen,  cannon,  and 
weapons,  she  is  not  allowed,  under  any  pretext,  to 
anchor,  and  create  disturbances.  Wherefore,  Let  her  he 
driven  away.  And  let  the  hong  merchants,  on  receiv- 
ing this  order,  act  in  obedience  thereto,  and  enjoin  it 
upon  the  said  nation’s  tae-pan  [captain]  that  he  order 
and  compel  the  said  ship  to  depart  and  return  home. 
He  is  not  allowed  to  frame  excuses,  linger  about,  and 
create  disturbances,  and  so  involve  offenses,  that  would 
be  examined  into  and  punished.  Let  the  day  fixed  for 
her  departure  be  reported.  Haste  ! Haste  ! A special 
order.”  Mr.  Roberts  states  that  no  notice  was  taken 
of  this  edict,  and  the  ship  remained  for  six  weeks  after 
it  was  issued.  The  inefficiency  of  the  Chinese  navy  at 
that  time  was  such  that,  he  says,  the  Peacock  alone 
could  have  destroyed  the  whole  imperial  fleet,”  and 
have  passed  up  to  Canton  and  back  with  a leading 
wind,  without  receiving  any  material  injury  from  the 


48  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

forts,  as  their  guns  were  firmly  imbedded  in  stone  and 
mortar,  and  could  only  be  fired  in  one  direction.^ 

From  Canton  Mr.  Roberts  sailed  to  a port  of  Annam 
or  Cochin-China,  in  order  to  communicate  with  the  seat 
of  government  at  Hue.  He  was  met  at  the  coast  by 
officials  of  the  government,  and  frequent  parleys  and 
correspondence  ensued,  which  resulted  in  failure.  Mr. 
Roberts  records  the  spirit  of  these  as  follows  : The 

insulting  formalities  required  as  preliminaries  to  the 
treaty  by  the  ministers  from  the  capital  of  Cochin-China 
left  me  no  alternative,  save  that  of  terminating  a pro- 
tracted correspondence,  singularly  marked  from  its 
commencement  to  its  termination  by  duplicity  and  pre- 
varication in  the  official  servants  of  the  emperor.”  The 
first  obstacle  encountered  was  in  the  effort  to  secure  the 
transmission  of  a copy  of  President  Jackson’s  letter  to 
the  emperor.  The  officials  stated  that  the  President, 
being  elected  and  promoted  by  the  people,  and  not  pos- 
sessing the  actual  title  of  king,  it  behooved  him  to  write 
in  a manner  properly  decorous  and  respectful ; on  which 
account  it  was  requisite  for  the  translation  to  be  exam- 
ined in  order  to  expunge  improper  words.”  They  also 
insisted  upon  seeing  the  original  letter,  which  was  sealed. 
Mr.  Roberts  refused  to  comply  with  these  demands,  the 
negotiation  was  broken  off,  and  he  sailed  away. 

During  the  conferences  the  officials  raised  some  ques- 
tion as  to  the  right  of  Mr.  Roberts  to  communicate 
with  the  minister  of  state,  because  of  his  lower  rank. 
When  they  asked  him  what  were  his  titles,  he  replied 
that  there  was  no  order  of  nobility  in  the  United  States. 

^ Roberts’s  Embassy,  431. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


49 


They  insisted,  however,  that  a person  who  held  such  an 
important  position  under  his  government  as  he  must 
have  titles,  and  they  were  desirous  to  know  them  in 
order  to  ascertain  if  they  were  equal  in  number  to  those 
of  the  minister  of  state.  Mr.  Koberts  concluded  to 
humor  them.  The  principal  deputy,  having  prepared 
his  Chinese  pencil  and  a half  sheet  of  paper,  sat  down 
to  write.  Mr.  Koberts  remarked  that  it  would  require 
a whole  sheet,  which  surprised  them,  as  their  minister’s 
titles  would  not  require  a half  sheet.  He  thus  began  : 
Edmund  Koberts,  a special  envoy  from  the  United 
States,  and  a citizen  of  Portsmouth,  in  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire.  He  then  proceeded  to  add  to  his  titles  the 
names  of  all  the  counties  in  the  State.  The  scribe’s 
paper  was  full,  but  it  had  taken  much  time  owing  to  the 
difficulty  of  translating  the  names  into  Chinese,  and 
many  counties  yet  remained.  It  was  his  purpose,  when 
the  list  of  counties  was  exhausted,  to  proceed  with  the 
names  of  the  towns,  mountains,  rivers,  and  lakes  of  New 
Hampshire.  Fresh  paper  was  obtained,  but  the  official 
said  that  the  list  already  exceeded  the  titles  of  the 
highest  person  in  the  empire.  The  scribe  looked  weary, 
and,  as  the  ship  was  rolhng,  he  complained  of  a head- 
ache. Further  record  of  the  titles  was  postponed  till 
the  next  day,  and  no  more  objection  was  made  on  the 
score  of  the  American  envoy’s  rank.^ 

Mr.  Koberts  met  with  a more  favorable  reception  in 
Siam,  where  a fair  degree  of  liberality  towards  foreign- 
ers had  prevailed  for  two  centuries.  Within  twenty- 
two  days  all  the  formalities  of  reception,  giving  of 
1 Roberts’s  Embassy,  chap.  xiii. 


60 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


presents,  and  exchange  of  visits  required  by  the  oriental 
customs  had  been  complied  with,  and  a treaty  of  amity 
and  commerce  signed.  The  treaty  bears  the  date  of 
March  20,  1833,  and  is  the  first  diplomatic  instrument 
ever  executed  by  the  United  States  with  a ruHng  power 
of  Asia.  The  preamble  to  the  treaty  states  that  one 
original  is  written  in  Siamese,  the  other  in  Enghsh  ; but 
as  the  Siamese  are  ignorant  of  Enghsh  and  the  Ameri- 
cans of  Siamese,  a Portuguese  and  a Chinese  translation 
are  annexed,  to  serve  as  a testimony  to  the  contents  of 
the  treaty.  It  is  signed  on  the  one  part  with  the  name 
of  the  Chan  Phaya-Phra-klang,  and  sealed  with  the 
seal  of  the  lotus  flower  (of  glass);  on  the  other  part 
it  is  signed  with  the  name  of  Edmund  Roberts,  and 
sealed  with  a seal  containing  an  eagle  and  stars.”  ^ 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  obstacles  to  trade  and 
impositions  upon  it  were  in  great  measure  removed,  a 
barbarous  penalty  as  to  debts  was  abolished,  fixed  cus- 
toms and  port  charges  were  agreed  upon,  and  the  gen- 
eral results  of  it  were  to  place  American  commerce  with 
the  country  upon  a more  friendly  footing.  The  pre- 
sents for  the  king  on  signing  the  treaty  consisted  of 
silks,  elegant  watches  set  in  pearls,  and  silver  filigree 
baskets  with  gold  rims  and  enameled  with  birds  and 
flowers,  besides  gifts  to  officials  of  the  court.  And  be- 
fore his  departure  Mr.  Roberts  was  informed  that  upon 
the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  treaty  the  king 
would  expect  the  following  additional  presents  : Five 
pairs  of  stone  statues  of  men  and  women,  some  of  natu- 
ral and  some  of  larger  size,  clothed  in  various  costumes 
^ Treaties  of  United  States,  992. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


51 


of  the  United  States ; ten  pairs  of  vase  lamps  of  the 
largest  size,  of  plain  glass ; one  pair  of  swords,  with 
gold  hilt  and  scabbards,  — the  latter  of  gold,  not  gilt, 

— shape  of  blade  a little  curved.^ 

On  the  way  from  Siam  to  Muscat,  to  whose  sultan 
Mr.  Roberts  bore  a letter  from  the  President,  the  Pea- 
cock touched  at  one  of  the  ports  of  the  Malayan  Penin- 
sula. In  exchange  of  civihties  with  the  officials,  the 
captain  of  the  man-of-war  made  a present  of  some  to- 
bacco to  one  of  the  Mohammedan  princes,  who  expressed 
his  thanks  in  a letter,  from  which,  as  illustrative  of 
the  style  of  correspondence  of  the  place  and  period, 
the  following  extract,  in  translation,  is  made  : By  the 

mercy  of  God : This  friendly  epistle  is  the  dictate  of  a 
heart  very  white,  and  a face  very  clean,  written  under 
a sense  of  the  greatest  respect  and  most  exalted  love, 
permanent  and  unchangeable  as  the  courses  of  the  sun 
and  moon  ; that  is  from  me  — a gentleman  — Tumbah 
Tuah  of  Bencoolen,  Rajah,  &c.  Now  may  God  the 
Holy  and  Almighty  cause  this  to  arrive  before  the  face 
of  his  glorious  excellency.  Colonel  Geisinger,  the  head 
man  who  commands  in  the  American  ship-of-war,  which 
is  now  at  anchor  off  Rat  Island.  Furthermore,  after 
this,  the  object  of  this  letter  is  to  acknowledge  the 
present  of  American  tobacco  sent  to  me.  Wherefore 
I return  praise  to  God  and  my  expressions  of  gratitude 

— thus  much  ! ” ^ 

The  sultan  of  Muscat  at  that  day  ruled  over  a large 
extent  of  territory  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  extending  from 

1 Roberts’s  Embassy,  247,  314,  318. 

2 Ibid.  429. 


52 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  Persian  Gulf  in  Arabia  to  and  including  Zanzibar 
in  Africa^  and  bis  resources  were  more  than  adequate 
to  the  wants  of  bis  government.  His  subjects  were 
very  enterprising,  and  carried  on  a traffic  in  tbeir  own 
vessels  to  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa,  to  India, 
Ceylon,  Java,  and  Manila.  His  navy  was  the  most 
formidable  of  any  of  the  sovereigns  of  Asia,  consisting 
of  about  eighty  vessels,  carrying  from  four  to  seventy- 
four  guns.  With  these  thriving  people  the  American 
mercantile  marine  carried  on  a considerable  trade.  Dur- 
ing the  eighteen  months  preceding  Mr.  Roberts’s  visit 
thirty-two  vessels  of  the  United  States  had  visited  its 
chief  port,  while  the  entire  navigation  of  Europe  was 
confined  to  nine  vessels  for  the  same  period.  In  order 
to  protect  and  develop  this  trade  Mr.  Roberts  was  in- 
structed to  effect  a treaty  of  amity  and  commerce. 

The  sultan  received  the  American  envoy  with  every 
mark  of  consideration  and  friendship.  Mr.  Roberts  ob- 
served a noted  improvement  in  the  court  ceremonies  over 
those  of  the  countries  farther  to  the  east  under  Chinese 
influence.  He  says,  Here  was  to  be  seen  no  abasing, 
crawling,  and  crouching,  and  ^knocking  head,’  like  a 
parcel  of  slaves ; but  all  was  manly,  and  every  one  stood 
on  his  feet.”  The  sultan  was  a humane  and  just  ruler, 
and  entertained  hberal  views  as  to  commerce.  No  ob- 
stacles were  interposed  to  a treaty,  which  was  speedily 
concluded,  granting  trade  without  any  vexatious  condi- 
tions under  a tariff  of  five  per  cent.,  with  no  port 
charges  of  any  kind.  When  the  usual  provision  was 
submitted  by  the  envoy  providing  for  the  care  of  ship- 
wrecked American  seamen  at  the  expense  of  their  own 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


53 


government,  the  sultan  insisted  that  this  article  should 
be  amended  so  that  he  would  protect,  maintain,  and 
return  them  at  his  own  expense,  as,  he  said,  the  stipula- 
tion was  contrary  to  the  usage  of  the  Arabs  and  to  the 
rights  of  hospitality.  Though  the  sultan’s  kingdom 
has  long  since  been  broken  up,  the  convention  still 
appears  in  the  compilation  of  treaties  of  the  United 
States,  and  in  its  fifth  article  will  be  seen  this  insertion, 
‘‘  for  the  sultan  can  never  receive  any  remuneration 
whatever  for  rendering  succor  to  the  distressed.”  ^ 

To  the  letter  of  the  President,  the  sultan  replied  in 
most  expressive  terms,  the  opening  paragraph  of  which 
reads  as  follows : In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  To  the 

most  high  and  mighty  Andrew  Jackson,  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  whose  name  shines  with 
so  much  splendor  throughout  the  world.  I pray  most 
sincerely  that  on  the  receipt  of  this  letter  it  may  find 
his  Highness,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  in 
high  health,  and  that  his  happiness  may  be  constantly 
on  the  increase.  On  a most  fortunate  day  and  at  a 
happy  hour,  I had  the  honor  to  receive  your  Highness’s 
letter,  every  word  of  which  is  clear  and  distinct  as  the 
sun  at  noonday  and  every  letter  shone  forth  as  bril- 
hantly  as  the  stars  in  the  heavens:  your  Highness’s  letter 
was  received  from  your  faithful  and  highly  honorable 
representative  and  ambassador,  Edmund  Roberts,  who 
made  me  supremely  happy  in  explaining  the  object  of 
his  mission,  and  I have  complied  in  every  respect  with 
the  wishes  of  your  honorable  ambassador,  in  conclud- 
ing a treaty  of  friendship  and  commerce  between  our 
^ Treaties  of  the  United  States,  745. 


54. 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


respective  countries,  which  shall  be  faithfully  observed 
by  myself  and  my  successors,  as  long  as  the  world  en- 
dures.” ^ 

These  treaties  were  submitted  by  the  President  to  the 
Senate,  and  ratified  by  that  body,  and  Mr.  Roberts  was 
sent  out  a second  time  in  a man-of-war  to  exchange  the 
ratifications.  The  ceremony  attending  the  discharge  of 
the  duty  in  Siam  was  quite  impressive.  A procession  was 
formed  of  the  officers  of  the  two  naval  vessels  of  the 
United  States,  which  composed  the  expedition,  headed 
by  the  envoy,  and  preceded  by  the  ship’s  band,  and  in 
this  pomp  and  display,  the  treaty  was  borne  in  a box 
by  two  officers  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  An  eye-wit- 
ness of  the  ceremony  continues  the  narrative  : Mr. 

Roberts  took  the  treaty  in  his  hand,  and,  after  holding 
it  up  above  his  head  in  token  of  respect,  delivered  it  to 
a Siamese  officer.  He  also  held  it  above  his  head,  and 
then,  shaded  by  a royal  white  silk  umbrella  borne  by  a 
slave,  passed  it  into  the  boat,  where  it  was  received 
upon  an  ornamented  stand,  and,  after  covering  it  with 
a cone  of  gilt  paper,  it  was  placed  beneath  the  canopy. 
At  this  moment  our  band  ceased,  and  that  of  the  Siam- 
ese began  to  play.  The  boat  shoved  off,  and  we  turned 
our  steps  homeward  to  the  merry  tune  of  Yankee 
Doodle.”"- 

From  Siam  the  squadron  went  to  Canton,  where  the 
vessels  received  a warning  from  the  Chinese  authorities, 

1 Roberts’s  Embassy,  360,  430. 

2 3 Presidents’  Messages,  53.  A Voyage  round  the  World,  including 
an  Embassy  to  Muscat  and  Siam,  by  Dr.  Ruschenberger,  Philadelphia, 
1838,  p.  319. 


AMERICA’S  FIRST  INTERCOURSE 


65 


similar  to  the  one  on  the  former  visit,  and  to  which  no 
attention  was  given.  An  oriental  plague  had  broken 
out  in  the  vessels,  and  Mr.  Roberts  was  one  of  its 
victims,  dying  at  Macao,  June  12,  1836.  He  had  ac- 
quitted himself  with  great  credit  on  his  delicate  and 
difficult  mission.  He  had  at  all  times  sustained  the 
honor  and  dignity  of  the  country  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  governments  of  the  East,  which  had  been 
accustomed  only  to  abasement  and  servility  on  the  part 
of  foreigners ; but  he  also  secured  their  good-will  by  a 
proper  respect  for  established  customs.  He  sacrificed 
his  life  for  his  country  as  truly  as  the  soldier  who  dies 
upon  the  field  of  battle.  His  countrymen  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  services  have  erected  a monument  over 
his  grave  at  Macao,  and  a memorial  window  adorns 
St.  John’s  Church,  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  the  place  of  his 
birth.  He  has  the  honor  of  being  the  pioneer  in  the 
oriental  diplomacy  of  the  United  States.  His  service 
was  the  opening  chapter  in  the  political  intercourse  of 
the  nation  with  the  peoples  of  Asia  and  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific,  which  was  destined  to  exercise  a potent 
influence  upon  America  and  the  world. 


Ill 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 

It  was  not  possible  for  the  great  empires  of  China 
and  Japan  to  maintain  permanently  their  pohcy  of 
seclusion  described  in  the  preceding  chapters.  The 
maritime  commerce  of  the  world  was  rapidly  increasing. 
The  ships  of  Western  nations  were  traversing  all  seas. 
The  application  of  steam  to  navigation  was  beginning 
to  bring  the  distant  parts  of  the  globe  nearer  together. 
It  was  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  age  that  a vessel  in 
distress  or  requiring  aid  and  supplies  should  be  treated 
as  an  intruder  in  the  ports  of  any  people.  The  ex- 
change of  commodities  was  coming  to  be  regarded  as 
not  only  a legitimate  transaction,  but  as  one  from  which 
no  nation  had  a right  to  exclude  its  inhabitants. 

The  efforts  of  China  to  resist  the  progress  of  the 
world  in  shipping  and  commerce  were  destined  to  an 
early  and  humihating  failure.  The  traffic  carried  on 
through  Canton,  notwithstanding  its  vexatious  condi- 
tions, was  increasing ; and  the  Chinese  people,  reahzing 
its  advantages,  were  showing  a marked  interest  in  its 
growth.  The  unsatisfactory  methods  by  which  this 
trade  was  conducted  could  not  fail,  however,  sooner  or 
later,  to  bring  about  a conflict  between  the  authorities 
and  the  foreign  merchants  or  their  governments ; and  it 
was  plain  that  a radical  change  could  be  accompHshed 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES  ? 57 

only  by  force,  as  the  Chinese  authorities  would  not  will- 
ingly make  the  necessary  reforms.  All  the  indications 
pointed  to  Great  Britain  as  the  power  most  likely  to 
undertake  this  needed  task.  Her  commerce  was  greater 
than  that  of  any  other,  her  growing  possessions  in  India 
gave  her  increasing  interest  in  the  China  trade,  and 
her  naval  supremacy  made  her  the  natural  champion  of 
the  world’s  commerce. 

An  event  occurred  at  Canton  in  1834  which  pointed 
unmistakably  to  this  result.  The  British  East  India 
Company,  which  had  maintained  a monopoly  of  the 
English  trade  with  China  up  to  that  time,  withdrew  its 
agents  from  Canton  on  April  22  of  that  year,  and  ceased 
to  exercise  control.  By  virtue  of  an  act  of  Parliament 
William  IV.  nominated  a commission  to  regulate  the 
trade  ^^to  and  from  the  dominions  of  the  emperor  of 
China,  and  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  and  promoting 
such  trade.”  The  commission  consisted  of  Lord  Napier 
as  chief  superintendent,  and  two  associates,  together 
with  a numerous  corps  of  agents  and  clerks.  They 
reached  Macao  June  15,  and  ten  days  afterwards  they 
landed  at  Canton,  without  having  made  the  usual  appli- 
cation from  Macao  to  the  Chinese  customs  authorities 
for  the  privilege  to  come  to  Canton. 

On  June  25  a copy  of  the  king’s  commission  to  Lord 
Napier  and  his  associates  was  published  in  the  Canton 

Register,”  and  on  the  same  day  Lord  Napier  addressed 
a communication  in  the  form  of  a letter  to  the  governor 
of  the  city,  informing  him  of  the  arrival  of  the  com- 
mission, empowered  to  protect  and  promote  British 
trade,  and  that  he  was  invested  with  powers,  political 


58  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

and  judicial/’  and  he  asked  for  a personal  interview  at 
which  he  would  more  fully  explain  the  object  and 
duties  of  the  commission.  While  this  communication 
was  being  translated,  Lord  Napier  was  called  upon  by 
two  of  the  hong  merchants,  in  execution  of  an  instruc- 
tion from  the  governor  that  they  should  inform  him  of 
the  existing  regulations  as  to  intercourse,  which  must 
be  carried  on  through  the  hong  merchants.  Lord  Na- 
pier summarily  dismissed  them,  with  the  statement  that 
he  would  communicate  immediately  with  the  viceroy 
in  the  manner  befitting  his  Majesty’s  commission  and 
the  honor  of  the  British  nation.” 

After  the  hong  merchants  took  their  departure.  Lord 
Napier’s  letter  to  the  governor  was  sent  to  the  city  gate 
of  Canton  by  one  of  his  staff,  accompanied  by  several 
British  merchants.  At  the  gate  they  encountered  Chi- 
nese officers,  to  whom  they  tendered  the  letter  for  de- 
livery to  the  governor,  but  all  of  them  refused  to  receive 
it.  A messenger  was  dispatched  to  the  governor  re- 
porting the  situation,  and  after  several  hours  other  offi- 
cers appeared,  but  none  of  them  would  even  touch  the 
letter,  and  the  British  official  was  forced  to  return  with 
it  to  Lord  Napier. 

The  reason  given  for  the  refusal  to  receive  the  letter 
to  the  governor  was  that  it  did  not  have  on  the  super- 
scription the  usual  word  employed  in  Chinese  official 
correspondence,  to  wit,  pin  ” (petition),  which  Dr. 
Martin,  a high  authority  in  such  matters,  says  is  ^^a 
word  which  in  Chinese  expresses  abject  inferiority.”  ^ 
The  governor,  in  reporting  the  event  to  the  emperor, 
1 A Cycle  of  Cathay,  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  New  York,  1896,  p.  21. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


59 


also  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  on  the  envelope 
there  was  absurdly  written  the  characters  Great 
English  Nation,''^  In  the  communications  of  the  gov- 
ernor to  the  hong  merchants,  the  contents  of  which 
were  to  be  made  known  to  Lord  Napier,  attention 
was  called  to  the  fact  that  he  had  disregarded  the 
rules  of  the  trade  in  not  applying  from  Macao  for  a 
permit  to  come  to  Canton ; that  only  a tae-pan  (super- 
cargo or  agent)  had  been  allowed  to  represent  the  for- 
eign merchants,  and  that  an  eye  (superintendent),  an 
official  above  the  merchants  in  dignity,  could  not  pre- 
sume to  exercise  his  functions  without  the  consent  of 
the  imperial  government,  and  for  which  a respectful 
pin  must  be  sent.  A recapitulation  of  the  rules  gov- 
erning the  visit  and  stay  of  foreigners  was  given,  and 
the  governor  says : To  sum  up  the  whole  matter,  the 

nation  has  its  laws.  Even  England  has  its  laws.  How 
much  more  the  Celestial  Empire  ! How  flaming  bright 
are  its  great  laws  and  ordinances.  More  terrible  than 
the  awful  thunderbolts ! Under  this  whole  bright 
heaven,  none  dares  to  disobey  them.  Under  its  shelter 
are  the  four  seas.  Subject  to  its  soothing  care  are  ten 
thousand  kingdoms.  The  said  barbarian  eye  [Lord 
Napier],  having  come  over  a sea  of  several  myriads  of 
miles  in  extent  to  examine  and  have  superintendence  of 
affairs,  must  be  a man  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
principles  of  high  dignity.” 

On  the  day  after  the  rejection  of  the  letter  the  hong 
merchants  called  again  on  Lord  Napier  to  induce  him 
to  change  the  address,  but  he  refused  to  superscribe 
the  word  petition.”  Other  visits  from  them  followed 


60  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

on  the  next  and  subsequent  days  with  edicts  and  com- 
munications to  the  hong  merchants  from  the  governor, 
but  the  British  superintendent  refused  to  change  his 
position.  In  these  documents  Lord  Napier  was  re- 
quested to  return  to  Macao,  there  to  petition  to  be 
received  as  a superintendent,  and  to  await  the  emperor’s 
decision.  He  was  told  that  the  laws  of  the  Celestial 
Empire  did  not  permit  ministers  and  those  under  au- 
thority to  have  intercourse  by  letter  with  outside  bar- 
barians, especially  in  commercial  affairs,  and  that  any 
communications  to  them  must  be  made  throu2:h  the 
hong  merchants  in  the  form  of  a petition,  to  which  the 
barbarian  merchants  had  always  yielded  willing  and 
obedient  submission.  “ There  has  never  been,”  wrote 
the  governor,  such  a thing  as  outside  barbarians  send- 
ing a letter.  ...  It  is  contrary  to  everything  of  dig- 
nity and  decorum.  The  thing  is  most  decidedly  im- 
possible.” 

In  the  matter  of  commerce,  the  governor  defined  the 
attitude  of  his  government  in  very  decided  terms. 

The  barbarians  of  this  nation  [Great  Britain]  coming 
to  or  leaving  Canton  have  beyond  their  trade  not  any 
public  business ; and  the  commissioned  officers  of  the 
Celestial  Empire  never  take  cognizance  of  the  trivial 
affairs  of  trade.  . . . The  some  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  commercial  duties  yearly  coming  from  the  said  na- 
tion, concern  not  the  Celestial  Empire  to  the  extent  of 
a hair  or  a feather’s  down.  The  possession  or  absence 
of  them  is  utterly  unworthy  of  one  careful  thought.” 
These  declarations  were  followed  by  a notice  that  un- 
less Lord  Napier  desisted  from  his  efforts  to  hold  direct 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


61 


intercourse  and  withdrew  to  Macao,  the  trade  with  the 
British  merchants  would  be  stopped. 

The  controversy  continued  through  the  months  of 
July  and  August  with  increasing  irritation.  The  au- 
thorities encouraged  the  exhibition  of  every  possible 
annoyance  to  the  commission  and  the  English  residents ; 
in  communications  of  the  hong:  merchants  to  Lord  Na- 
pier,  at  the  instigation  of  the  governor,  he  was  ad- 
dressed as  laboriously  vile ; ” and  Chinese  laborers 
and  servants  were  forced  to  leave  British  service.  Lord 
Napier’s  correspondence  with  his  government  shows 
that  these  annoyances  were  leading  him  to  lose  his  tem- 
per. In  referring  to  the  governor  he  used  such  epi- 
thets as  petty  tyrant  ” and  presumptuous  savage.” 

Having  been  rebuffed  in  his  efforts  to  establish  inter- 
course with  the  officials,  and  it  becoming  apparent  that 
his  mission  was  to  prove  a failure,  he  published  in  the 
Chinese  language  and  caused  to  be  circulated  a docu- 
ment, in  which  he  reviewed  the  government’s  edicts, 
closing  as  follows : Governor  Loo  has  the  assurance 

to  state  in  the  edict  of  the  2d  instant  that  ^ the  King 
(my  master)  has  hitherto  been  reverently  obedient.’  I 
must  now  request  you  to  declare  to  them  (the  hong 
merchants)  that  his  Majesty,  the  King  of  England,  is  a 
great  and  powerful  monarch,  that  he  rules  over  an  ex- 
tent of  territory  in  the  four  quarters  of  the  world  more 
comprehensive  in  space  and  infinitely  more  so  in  power 
than  the  whole  empire  of  China;  that  he  commands 
armies  of  bold  and  fierce  soldiers,  who  have  conquered 
wherever  they  went ; and  that  he  is  possessed  of  great 
ships,  where  no  native  of  China  has  ever  yet  dared  to 


62 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


show  his  face.  Let  the  governor  then  judge  if  such  a 
monarch  will  be  ^ reverently  obedient  ’ to  any  one.” 

Finally,  Lord  Napier  showing  no  disposition  to  retire 
to  Macao,  an  edict  was  issued' stopping  all  trade  with 
the  English.  This  brought  on  such  a threatening  state 
of  affairs  that  a British  force  was  sent  up  from  the 
warships  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  and  lodged  in  the 
British  factory.  The  next  day  the  British  squadron 
cleared  for  action,  moved  up  the  river,  and  as  they 
passed  the  Bogue  forts  they  were  fired  upon  and  re- 
turned the  fire.  Two  days  afterwards  the  firing  was 
renewed  between  the  forts  and  vessels,  but  after  much 
parleying  between  the  hong  merchants  and  the  British 
residents  a truce  was  arranged.  The  result  of  this  was 
that  Lord  Napier,  out  of  regard  for  the  merchants 
whose  trade  was  stopped,  and,  in  view  of  the  hopeless- 
ness of  bringing  the  governor  to  intercourse  on  terms 
of  equality,  decided  to  withdraw  to  Macao  and  there 
await  instructions  from  his  government.  The  warships 
were  to  leave  the  river,  and  trade  was  to  be  reopened. 

The  commission  took  its  departure  for  Macao,  August 
21,  in  two  boats  provided  by  the  Chinese  authorities, 
the  British  vessels  having  already  left ; but  the  indig- 
nities did  not  cease.  Lord  Napier,  who  had  fallen  ill, 
owing  to  the  great  strain  upon  his  nervous  system,  was 
twice  detained  en  route  by  the  Chinese,  and  subjected 
to  exposure  which  it  is  alleged  greatly  aggravated  his 
illness ; and  he  did  not  reach  Macao  until  four  days  after 
leaving  Canton.  He  died  at  tlie  former  place,  Septem- 
ber 11,  1834.  His  physician  certified  that  his  illness 
was  wholly  attributable  to  the  severe  labor  and  anxiety 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


63 


which  devolved  upon  him,  and  that  his  death  was  has- 
tened by  the  needless  and  vexatious  detention  and 
exposure  to  which  he  was  subjected  by  the  Chinese 
authorities.  The  governor  reported  to  the  emperor 
that  the  barbarian  eye  had  been  sent  away,  and  the 
English  ships  had  been  driven  out  of  the  river. 

On  leaving  Canton,  Lord  Napier,  in  a letter  to  the 
British  residents,  expressed  a hope  that  the  day  will 
yet  arrive  when  I shall  be  placed  in  my  proper  position, 
by  an  authority  which  nothing  can  withstand.”  At 
the  same  time  he  wrote  to  Lord  Palmerston,  secretary 
for  foreign  affairs,  that  the  viceroy  had  committed  an 
outrage  on  the  British  crown  which  should  be  chastised, 
and  he  implored  his  lordship  to  force  the  Chinese  to 
acknowledge  his  authority  and  the  king’s  commission, 
stating  that  such  a course  would  result  in  opening  the 
ports.  The  American  consul  sent  to  the  Department  of 
State  a report  of  the  affair  in  detail.  He  regarded  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  China  as  imminent,  and  sug- 
gested that  it  might  be  to  the  interest  of  the  United 
States  to  become  a party  to  the  contest,  at  least  to  the 
extent  of  making  demand,  accompanied  by  the  display 
of  a naval  force,  for  terms  in  every  respect  as  advan- 
tageous as  those  England  might  obtain.^  John  Quincy 
Adams  a few  years  later,  in  a public  address,  declared 
that  the  conduct  of  the  Chinese  authorities  justified 

^ The  official  documents  relating  to  Lord  Napier’s  commission  will  be 
found  in  the  British  Blue  Book,  or  Parliamentary  papers,  of  the  period. 
They  are  quite  fully  reproduced  with  all  the  details  of  the  affair  in 
3 Chinese  Repository,  143,  186,  235,  280,  324  ; 11  Ib.  25,  65.  See,  also, 
Williams’s  Hist.  China,  chap.  iii.  ; 47  N.  A.  Review,  403  ; Consul  Shilla- 
ber,  September  25,  1834,  Consular  Archives. 


64  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

war  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain.  But  the  British 
cabinet  failed  to  approve  the  action  of  Lord  Napier, 
and  stated  that  it  was  its  purpose  not  to  establish  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  China  by  force,  but  by  concil- 
iatory measures. 

This  occurrence  strengthened  the  Chinese  government 
in  its  policy  of  exclusion  and  of  maintaining  the  trade 
regulations.  It  has  been  seen  in  the  extracts  from  the 
edicts  and  its  conduct  towards  Lord  Napier  that  it  re- 
garded all  foreign  nations  as  subject  to  the  emperor, 
and  that  their  officials  could  only  approach  and  hold 
intercourse  with  his  authorities  as  vassals.  So  strongly 
was  this  policy  imbedded  in  the  imperial  system  that 
it  could  only  be  eradicated  by  the  rude  argument  of 
force.  War  with  Great  Britain  was  for  the  time  de- 
ferred, but  the  treatment  of  his  Majesty’s  commission 
had  its  influence  on  the  decision  of  the  British  govern- 
ment a few  years  later  to  resort  to  hostilities.  It  is  to 
be  regretted,  for  the  sake  of  our  Christian  civilization, 
that  the  conflict  which  came  in  1840,  known  as  the 

Opium  War,”  could  not  have  had  as  just  a provoca- 
tion as  that  growing  out  of  this  insult  to  the  British 
nation  and  the  death  of  its  representative. 

Opium  was  introduced  into  China  in  the  thirteenth 
century  by  the  Arabs,  but  its  use  was  confined  exclu- 
sively to  medicinal  purposes,  as  in  most  other  countries, 
and  when  the  European  ships  began  to  visit  the  East  it 
had  no  importance  as  merchandise.  As  late  as  1773, 
when  the  Portuguese  were  supplanted  in  the  supremacy 
of  the  market  by  the  English,  the  importation  of  the 
drug  had  never  exceeded  200  chests  annually.  As  a 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


65 


result  of  the  victory  of  Clive  at  Plassy,  the  British 
East  India  Company  secured  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
opium  cultivation,  and  it  soon  became  its  most  impor- 
tant article  of  exportation.  Three  years  after  the  East 
India  Company  obtained  this  monopoly,  its  importation 
to  China  had  increased  five  fold,  and  in  1790  it  had 
mounted  up  to  4000  chests,  or  twenty  fold.^ 

By  that  time  it  was  fast  coming  into  popular  use  for 
self-indulgence  as  a narcotic,  and  its  evil  effects  were 
so  apparent  in  the  vicinity  of  Canton  that  the  governor 
of  the  province  memorialized  the  emperor  for  its  exclu- 
sion. He  stated  that  it  was  a subject  of  deep  regret 
that  the  vile  dirt  of  foreign  countries  should  be  received 
in  exchange  for  the  commodities  and  money  of  the  em- 
pire, . . . and  that  the  practice  of  smoking  opium 
should  spread  among  the  people  of  the  inner  land,  to 
the  waste  of  their  time  and  destruction  of  their  pro- 
perty.’’ In  response  to  this  memorial  the  emperor  issued 
an  edict  in  1796  prohibiting  its  importation,  and  thence- 
forward the  imperial  authorities  sought  to  suppress  the 
traffic.  The  governor  of  Canton,  in  making  proclama- 
tion to  the  foreign  traders  of  this  prohibition,  told  them 
that  the  Celestial  Empire  did  not  presume  to  forbid  the 
people  of  the  West  to  use  opium  and  extend  the  habit 
in  their  dominions;  but,”  he  said,  ^^that  opium  should 
flow  into  this  country  where  vagabonds  clandestinely 
purchase  and  eat  it,  and  continually  become  sunk  in 
the  most  stupid  and  besotted  state,  so  as  to  cut  down 
the  powers  of  nature  and  destroy  life,  is  an  injury  to  the 
minds  and  manners  of  men  of  the  greatest  magnitude ; 

^ Encyclopsedia  Britannica,  Article,  Opium. 


66  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

and  therefore  opium  is  most  rigorously  prohibited  by 
law/’ 

The  profits  on  the  sale  of  the  article  were  so  large 
that,  notwithstanding  the  interdiction,  the  importation 
continued  to  grow.  The  supply  came  exclusively  from 
India  and  every  chest  bore  upon  it  the  stamp  of  the 
East  India  Company,  as  its  sale  in  India  was  a govern- 
ment monopoly.  The  trade  was  encouraged  by  that 
company,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  it  had  been  made 
unlawful  by  imperial  edict,  and  British  ships  were 
mainly  used  in  its  transportation,  although  those  of 
other  nationalities  were  to  a limited  extent  ens^aa-ed  in 
it.  Between  1820  and  1830  the  importation  to  China 
had  risen  to  17,000  chests,  and  the  smuggling  was  con- 
ducted along  the  coast  from  Tientsin  to  Hainan.  Such 
a large  and  extended  trade  could  not  be  carried  on 
without  the  complicity  or  connivance  of  the  local  au- 
thorities, and  it  was  apparent  that  the  customs  officials 
and  even  others  higher  in  power  were  reaping  private 
gain  from  the  smuggling.^ 

The  ineffectual  efforts  of  the  government  to  suppress 
the  importation  of  opium  led  many  intelligent  Chinese 
to  advocate  its  legalization  under  strict  regulations  as 
to  its  domestic  sale,  and  memorials  to  that  effect  were 
sent  to  the  emperor ; but  the  court  at  Peking  was  so 
thoroughly  satisfied  that  the  use  was  a national  e\il  of 
alarming  proportions  that  it  refused  to  listen  to  sugges- 
tions for  a license  system.  While  many  mandarins  at 
the  ports  were  compromised  in  the  illicit  traffic,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  moral  power  of  the  empire  sym- 

^ 6 Chinese  Repository,  513  ; 7 Ib.  162  ; 2 Hist.  China,  GutzlafP,  217. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


67 


pathized  with  and  supported  the  emperor  in  his  sincere 
and  earnest  efforts  for  its  suppression. 

More  stringent  orders  were  sent  to  Canton  on  the 
subject,  and  the  arrests  for  violation  of  the  prohibitory 
law  became  more  frequent.  One  that  attracted  much 
attention  was  that  of  a Mr.  Innes,  a British  merchant, 
and  a Mr.  Talbot,  an  American,  in  1838,  charged  with 
complicity  in  the  landing  of  opium  at  the  factories. 
Both  men  were  ordered  to  be  expelled ; hut  the  Ameri- 
can, upon  investigation,  was  declared  innocent.  Owing 
to  the  hesitation  of  the  British  superintendent  to  exe- 
cute the  order  of  expulsion  of  Innes,  a strong  feeling 
of  resentment  was  stirred  up  in  the  Chinese  population, 
and  the  factories  were  threatened  with  mob  violence. 
To  show  that  the  authorities  regarded  the  foreign  mer- 
chants as  responsible  for  the  opium  traffic,  they  ordered 
a Chinese  who  had  been  detected  in  receiving  the  drug 
to  be  executed  in  the  foreign  quarter,  and  the  officials 
were  in  the  act  of  carrying  into  effect  the  sentence  of 
strangulation  of  the  culprit  in  front  of  the  American 
consulate  when  they  were  driven  away  by  a sudden  on- 
slaught of  the  foreign  merchants.  A short  time  after- 
wards another  execution  was  successfully  performed  on 
the  factory  premises,  which  so  outraged  the  residents 
that  the  consuls  of  all  nations  hauled  down  their  flags, 
and  for  a time  the  trade  was  entirely  suspended.^ 

At  this  period  it  would  seem  that  the  unlawful  im- 
portation had  become  so  open  and  notorious  that  the 
opium,  which  had  in  previous  years  been  smuggled  into 

^ For  full  report  by  U.  S.  Consul  Snow,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  119,  p.  2,  26th 
Cong.  1st  Sess. 


68 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  province  from  Lintin,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  was 
now  being  brought  into  the  foreign  factories,  and  its 
introduction  effected  with  the  knowledge  of  the  officials. 
The  American  consul  reported  that  the  amount  imported 
in  1838  was  about  thirty-five  thousand  chests,  of  the 
value  of  §17,000,000.  The  emperor,  learning  that  his 
edicts  were  not  being  properly  enforced,  determined  to 
resort  to  more  radical  measures,  and  selecting  one  of 
his  most  trusted  and  energetic  viceroys,  Lin,  he  dis- 
patched him  to  Canton  as  a special  commissioner,  bear- 
ing the  great  seal  of  the  emperor,  with  full  powers  to 
put  a stop  to  the  importation,  sale,  and  use  of  the 
vicious  and  hated  drug. 

It  is  said  that  the  commissioner  received  his  instruc- 
tions in  person  from  the  emperor,  who  recounted  to 
him  the  e^dls  that  had  long  affiicted  his  children  by 
means  of  the  flowing  poison,”  and,  adverting  to  the 
future,  paused  and  wept ; then  turning  to  the  commis- 
sioner, said,  How,  alas  ! can  I die  and  go  to  the 
shades  of  my  imperial  father  and  ancestors  until  these 
direful  e^dls  are  removed? ” ^ Within  a few  days  after 
his  arrival  Lin  issued  an  edict,  especially  directed  to  the 
foreign  merchants,  in  which  he  said  that  the  emperor’s 
wrath  had  been  fearfully  aroused,  nor  will  it  rest  till 
the  evil  be  utterly  extirpated.”  He  thereupon  ordered 
that  the  further  importation  of  opium  cease,  under 
penalty  of  death,  and  that  all  of  the  unlawful  article 
in  their  possession  be  delivered  up  to  the  authorities. 

This  order  spread  consternation  among  the  mer- 
chants, the  greater  part  of  whom  were  engaged  in  the 
1 H.  Ex.  Doc.  119  (cited),  p.  13;  7 Chinese  Repository,  610. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


69 


illicit  business.  After  some  days  of  delay  and  negotiation 
through  the  hong  merchants,  fully  determined  to  have 
every  chest  of  opium  on  the  ships  or  in  the  factories 
delivered  up,  Commissioner  Lin  caused  the  factory  set- 
tlement to  be  entirely  surrounded.  On  the  water  side 
were  stationed  a fleet  of  armed  boats,  and  on  the  land 
side  a double  row  of  soldiers,  while  all  the  streets  were 
walled  up,  leaving  only  one  exit.  The  books  and  ac- 
counts of  the  merchants  were  seized ; the  Chinese  clerks 
and  servants  were  taken  from  them  ; no  intercourse  was 
allowed  with  the  outside  world,  — even  the  supply  of 
provisions  was  cut  off  ; and  the  foreigners  were  held  in 
their  factories  as  strict  prisoners.  The  British  superin- 
tendent protested  and  threatened,  but  to  no  purpose- 
At  last  he  delivered  over  to  the  Chinese  authorities 
every  chest  of  opium  in  the  settlement,  amounting  to 
22,283  chests,  of  the  estimated  value  of  $8,000,000. 
Of  this  number  1540  chests  were  held  by  the  American 
merchants,  but  the  consul  reported  that  they  were  all 
British  property,  and  as  such  surrendered  to  the  British 
superintendent. 

After  the  delivery  of  the  opium,  trade  was  again 
opened ; but  under  the  direction  of  the  superintendent 
all  the  British  residents  left  Canton.  The  American 
consul  sympathized  with  the  British  in  this  movement ; 
but  his  countrymen  did  not  see  proper  to  follow  that 
course  of  action,  and  remained  in  Canton  actively  en- 
gaged in  business  till  the  British  blockade  of  the  port 
was  established.  The  blockade  and  active  hostilities 
did  not  begin  till  about  a year  after  these  events ; but 
the  British  government  at  once  began  warlike  prepara- 


70 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


tions  to  avenge  what  it  alleged  to  be  the  insult  to  its 
representative  and  the  destruction  of  the  property  of  its 
subjects. 

The  British  superintendent,  upon  delivering  up  the 
opium,  communicated  to  his  home  government  his  con- 
viction that  the  Chinese  authorities  would  cause  the 
confiscated  property  to  be  sold,  and  profit  by  the  sale  ; 
but  the  entire  quantity  was  wholly  and  completely  de- 
stroyed, and  for  the  time  being  an  end  was  put  to  the 
hateful  traffic.  The  commissioner  had  thoroughly  exe- 
cuted the  orders  of  his  sovereign,  but  in  doing  so  he 
had  initiated  a conflict  with  the  Western  powers  which 
was  destined  to  vex  the  empire  for  many  years  to  come, 
and  ultimately  to  transform  its  relations  with  the  out- 
side world.^ 

It  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  volume  to  enter  upon 
a detailed  account  of  the  Opium  War.”  No  formal 
declaration  of  war  was  made  by  the  British  government, 
and  no  official  explanation  of  its  cause  or  purpose  was 
given  to  the  public  other  than  an  order  in  council  to 
the  Admiralty,  stating  that  satisfaction  and  reparation 
for  the  late  injurious  proceedings  of  certain  officers  of 
the  emperor  of  China  against  certain  of  our  officers 
and  subjects  shall  be  demanded  from  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment.” A blockade  of  Canton  was  established  June 
22,  1840,  and  hostilities  began  July  5.  After  some 
indecisive  operations  along  the  coast,  the  fortifications 
which  defended  Canton  were  destroyed,  and  that  city 

^ For  American  consul’s  report  and  official  documents,  H.  Ex.  Doc.  119 
(cited),  13-85.  For  chronological  order  of  events  and  citation  of  docu- 
ments, 11  Chinese  Repository,  345,  401. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


71 


was  ransomed  from  assault  by  the  payment  of  $6,000,- 
000.  Amoy,  Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  successively  fell 
into  British  hands.  , Chinkiang  was  taken  by  assault, 
sacked,  and  destroyed  with  horrible  slaughter.  Nanking 
was  invested,  and  when  about  to  be  attacked  the  Chinese 
sued  for  peace. 

All  the  boasted  prowess  of  their  generals  had  come 
to  naught.  They  had  been  overwhelmingly  defeated 
in  every  encounter  with  the  British,  and  to  save  their 
ancient  capital  from  destruction  the  emperor’s  pleni- 
potentiaries made  haste  to  accept  the  terms  dictated  by 
the  victors.  The  treaty,  signed  August  29,  1842,  pro- 
vided for  the  opening  of  the  ports  of  Canton,  Amoy, 
Fuchau  (Foo-chow),  Ningpo,  and  Shanghai  to  British 
trade  and  residence ; the  island  of  Hongkong  was  ceded ; 
$21,000,000  was  to  be  paid  as  a war  indemnity,  of 
which  $6,000,000  was  for  the  opium  destroyed,  and 
$3,000,000  for  debts  due  British  subjects ; a tariff  of 
import  and  export  duties  was  to  be  agreed  upon,  and 
official  correspondence  was  to  be  conducted  on  terms  of 
equahty.^ 

A singular  feature  of  the  treaty  was  that  no  attempt 
was  made  in  it  to  adjust  the  matter  which  had  been  the 
immediate  occasion  of  the  war,  — the  importation  of 
opium.  After  the  treaty  was  signed  it  appears  that 
there  was  some  discussion  of  the  subject  between  the 
negotiators,  initiated  by  the  British  plenipotentiary,  who 

^ For  treaty,  see  Treaties,  Conventions,  etc.,  Chinese  Customs  Edition, 
107 ; for  documentary  history  of  the  war,  Chinese  Repository,  vols.  8 to 
12  ; China  during  the  War,  etc..  Sir  John  F.  Davis,  London,  1852  ; Nar- 
rative of  Events  in  China,  by  Captain  G.  G.  Loch,  London,  1843  ; Wil- 
liams’s Hist.  China,  chap.  iv. 


72 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


referred  to  the  great  cause  which  produced  the  dis- 
turbances which  led  to  the  war,  viz.,  the  trade  in  opium.” 
The  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  asked  why  the  British 

would  not  act  fairly  towards  them  by  prohibiting  the 
growth  of  the  poppy  in  their  dominions,  and  thus  effec- 
tually stop  a traffic  so  pernicious  to  the  human  race.” 
The  British  answer  was  that  this  could  not  be  done  in 
consistency  with  their  constitutional  laws ; that  even  i£ 
they  ceased  to  bring  opium  to  China  the  Chinese  would 
procure  the  drug  from  some  other  source ; and  that  it 
would  be  better  to  legitimatize  the  importation  under 
proper  regulations.  But  the  Chinese  replied  that  their 
imperial  master  would  never  listen  to  a word  on  that 
subject.”  And  after  the  war  the  illicit  practice  con- 
tinued, to  the  physical  and  moral  injury  of  the  Chinese, 
and  to  the  great  financial  profit  of  the  British.^ 

The  moral  aspects  of  the  war  were  at  the  time  and 
have  been  since  much  discussed.  The  general  judg- 
ment may  be  stated  to  be  in  condemnation  of  the  British 
for  the  encouragement  and  maintenance  of  the  trade,  so 
injurious  to  the  Chinese  people,  and  so  strongly  con- 
demned by  their  authorities.  They  were  not  justified 
in  inaugurating  hostilities  because  of  the  seizure  and 
destruction  of  the  opium,  — an  article  made  contraband 
by  the  laws  of  China  and  subject  to  confiscation.  On 
the  other  hand,  a conflict  was  recognized  as  inevitable 
and  necessary  to  compel  the  Chinese  government  to  treat 
other  nations  and  their  officials  upon  terms  of  equality, 

1 Narrative  of  Events,  etc.,  by  Captain  Loch,  173  ; 1 China  during  the 
War,  etc.,  by  Davis,  18.  As  to  condition  of  trade  after  the  war,  2 Mont- 
gomery Martin’s  China,  chap.  vi. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


73 


and  to  establish  intercourse  with  the  world  in  accordance 
with  modern  methods.  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  a close 
student  of  Chinese  affairs  and  a resident  of  the  country 
for  half  a century,  says  that  nothing  could  be  more 
erroneous  than  to  charge  England  with  waging  the  war 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  compelling  the  Chinese  to  keep 
an  open  market  for  the  product  of  her  Indian  poppy- 
fields  ; but  he  adds,  referring  to  the  treatment  of  Lord 
Napier  in  1834  and  to  other  similar  events,  interest  had 
to  combine  with  indignation  before  she  could  be  aroused 
to  action.”  Dr.  Nevius,  an  American  missionary  long 
a resident  of  China,  wrote  : Justifiable  or  not,  it  [the 

Opium  War]  was  made  use  of  in  God’s  providence  to 
inaugurate  a new  era  in  our  relations  with  this  vast 
empire.” 

John  Quincy  Adams,  in  the  address  referred  to  be- 
fore the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  in  November, 
1841,  took  the  ground  that  Great  Britain  was  entirely 
justified  in  the  war.  The  prevailing  sentiment  in  the 
United  States  will  be  seen  by  the  following  extracts 
from  Mr.  Adams’s  diary  : Nov.  20,  1841.  They  [the 

Parliamentary  papers]  all  confirm  me  in  the  view  taken 
in  my  lecture  . . . which  is  so  adverse  to  the  prevail- 
ing prejudices  of  the  time  and  place  that  I expect  to 
bring  down  a storm  upon  my  head  worse  than  that 
with  which  I am  already  afflicted.”  He  records  the 
refusal  in  a very  delicate  manner  ” of  the  North 
American  Review  to  publish  the  lecture,  and  adds, 
December  3,  1841,  The  excitement  of  public  opinion 
and  feeling  by  the  delivery  of  this  lecture  far  exceeds 


74  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

any  expectation  that  I had  formed ; although  I did 
expect  that  it  would  be  considerable/’  ^ 

The  British  historian,  Justin  McCarthy,  says : Re- 

duced to  plain  words,  the  principle  for  which  we  fought 
in  the  China  War  was  the  right  of  Great  Britain  to 
force  a peculiar  trade  upon  a foreign  people  in  spite  of 
the  protestations  of  the  government  and  all  such  public 
opinion  as  there  was  of  the  nation.”  He  proceeds  to 
say  that  during  the  controversy,  on  some  questions  the 
British  government  was  in  the  right,  and  on  them  had 
the  issue  been  joined  war  might  have  been  justified. 

But  no  considerations  of  this  kind  can  now  hide  from 
our  eyes  the  fact  that  in  the  beginning  and  the  very 
origin  of  the  quarrel  we  were  distinctly  in  the  wrong. 
We  asserted,  or  at  least  acted  on  the  assertion  of,  a 
claim  so  unreasonable  and  even  monstrous  that  it  never 
could  have  been  made  upon  any  nation  strong  enough 
to  render  its  assertion  a matter  of  serious  responsi- 
bility.” ^ 

The  government  of  the  United  States  was  not  un- 
mindful of  the  interests  of  its  citizens  during  the  con- 
test, and  it  kept  a naval  squadron  continuously  in 
Chinese  waters  until  some  months  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  peace.  The  commanding  officer.  Commodore 
Kearny,  exhibited  both  firmness  and  skill  in  his  inter- 
course with  the  authorities,  and  induced  the  governor 

^ Martin’s  Cathay,  21  ; China  and  the  Chinese,  by  John  L.  Nevius, 
New  York,  1869,  p.  300  ; 11  Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  30,  31.  For 
Adams’s  address,  Boston  Transcript,  Nov.  24,  1841 ; 11  Chinese  Reposi- 
tory, 274. 

2 1 A History  of  Our  Own  Times,  by  Justin  McCarthy,  London,  1879, 
pp.  165,  166. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


75 


of  Canton  to  pay  damages  to  the  amount  of  several 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  injuries  suffered  by  Amer- 
icans during  the  war  on  account  of  mob  violence  and 
illegal  arrests.  But  he  rendered  a much  more  valu- 
able service  to  his  own  and  other  nations,  and  for 
which  he  has  received  scant  credit.  By  the  British 
treaty  it  was  provided  that  a tariff  and  new  trade  regu- 
lations should  be  agreed  upon.  On  learning  of  this 
provision,  Commodore  Kearny  addressed  a communi- 
cation to  the  governor  of  Canton,  in  which,  referring 
to  the  expected  arrival  at  that  place  of  the  imperial 
commissioners  to  arrange  commercial  affairs  with  the 
British,  he  asked  that  citizens  of  the  United  States  in 
their  trade  should  be  placed  upon  the  same  footing 
as  the  merchants  of  the  nation  most  favored.”  In 
previous  correspondence  the  governor  had  borne  testi- 
mony to  the  fact  that  the  American  merchants  at  Can- 
ton had  confined  themselves  to  legitimate  and  honor- 
able trade,”  and  in  his  reply  to  the  commodore  he  said 
of  them,  that  they  have  been  respectfully  observant 
of  the  laws  is  what  the  august  emperor  has  clearly 
recognized,  and  I,  the  governor,  also  well  know.  . . . 
Decidedly  it  shall  not  he  permitted  that  the  American 
merchants  shall  come  to  have  merely  a dry  stick  ” — 
that  is,  their  interests  shall  be  attended  to.  And  he 
assured  the  commodore  that  the  emperor  would  be 
memorialized,  in  order  that  the  imperial  commissioners 
might  be  instructed  on  the  subject. 

Having  received  these  assurances  from  the  governor, 
Kearny  prepared  to  take  his  departure,  whereupon  the 
American  consul  protested  that  he  should  not  leave 


76 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


until  the  commissioners  arrived,  as  the  presence  of  a 
large  man-of-war  in  the  vicinity  would  have  a beneficial 
effect  upon  the  deliberations.  He  urged  that  “ the 
magnitude  of  our  trade  ...  of  far  greater  extent  than 
the  whole  South  American  trade/’  called  for  special 
attention  at  that  critical  time.  The  commodore  was 
induced  to  remain  for  seven  months  longer,  and  had 
the  great  satisfaction  of  receiving  the  assurance  from 
the  commissioners  that  American  citizens  should  par- 
ticipate equally  with  the  British  in  the  new  tariff  and 
trade  regulations.  Of  this  matter  a member  of  the 
British  commission  wrote : The  Chinese  government 

promised,  on  the  representation  of  the  American  com- 
modore, Kearny,  previous  to  the  treaty  of  Nanking, 
that  whatever  concessions  were  made  to  the  English 
should  also  be  granted  to  the  United  States.  The 
throwing  open  the  ports  of  China  to  Europe  and 
America  was  not,  therefore,  the  result  of  our  policy, 
but  had  its  origin  in  the  anxious  forethought  of  the 
Americans,  lest  we  might  stipulate  for  some  exclusive 
privileges.”  It  is  pleasing  to  have  the  testimony  of  so 
high  an  authority  to  the  efficient  and  useful  service  of 
an  American  officer. 

In  accordance  with  the  British  treaty,  the  new  tariff, 
averaging  the  low  rate  of  about  five  per  centum,  and 
the  trade  regulations,  were  put  into  operation  by  a 
notable  proclamation  of  the  imperial  commissioner. 

The  tariff  of  duties,”  he  announced,  will  take  effect 
with  reference  to  the  commerce  with  China  of  all  coun- 
tries, as  well  as  of  England.  Henceforth  the  weapons 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


77 


of  war  shall  forever  be  laid  aside,  and  joy  and  profit 
shall  be  the  perpetual  lot  of  all.”  ^ 

It  is  due  to  the  Chinese  government  to  say  that  this 
grant  of  trade  to  all  nations  upon  equal  terms  was  an 
inspiration  of  its  own  sense  of  justice,  as  neither  the 
emperor  nor  his  commissioner  had  any  knowledge  of 
the  rule  of  international  law,  — the  most  favored 
nation,”  — at  that  day  even  imperfectly  observed  by 
the  Christian  governments.  With  this  proclamation 
the  monopoly  of  the  co-hong  and  the  old  system  ceased 
to  exist,  and  modern  commercial  methods  began  to  be 
practiced  in  the  great  empire. 

It  was  not  difficult  to  see  that  the  results  of  the 
Anglo-Chinese  war  must  result  in  benefit  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  world,  and  the  government  of  the  United 
States  was  not  slow  to  take  advantage  of  it  at  the 
proper  time.  The  consul  at  Canton  had  at  the  outset 
of  hostilities  suggested  that  a favorable  time  to  open 
negotiations  for  a commercial  treaty  was  near  at  hand. 
The  merchants  of  Boston  interested  in  China  about  the 
same  time  transmitted  a memorial  to  Congress  asking 
that  a strong  naval  force  be  sent  to  watch  the  progress 
of  the  war  and  protect  American  commerce,  but  they 
urged  that  no  envoy  be  sent  to  China  to  negotiate 
until  the  war  was  concluded  and  its  results  made 
known.  Dr.  Peter  Parker,  who  had  spent  some  years 
in  China  as  a medical  missionary,  was  in  Washington, 
and  in  April,  1841,  he  urged  Secretary  Webster  to  send 

1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  139,  29th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  For  Mr.  Cushing’s  views, 
S.  Ex.  Doc.  67,  p.  101,  28th  Cong.  2d  Sess. ; 1 Montgomery  Martin’s 
China,  414  ; 12  Chinese  Repository,  443. 


78  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

a minister  to  that  country,  and  consulted  John  Quincy 
Adams  as  to  his  willingness  to  go,  telling  him  that  Mr. 
Cushing  and  other  members  of  the  Committee  on  For- 
eign Affairs  had  suggested  his  name.  Mr.  Adams 
replied  that  if  his  name  was  to  be  considered  he  could 
not  support  the  motion  in  the  House  for  an  appropria- 
tion, and  that  he  regarded  action  at  that  time  as  pre- 
mature.^ 

On  the  assembling  of  Congress  after  receipt  of  the 
news  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  the 
President,  December  30,  1842,  sent  a special  message 
to  that  body,  giving  information  as  to  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  and  recommending  that  an  appropriation  be 
made  to  enable  the  executive  to  dispatch  a special 
mission  to  that  country  to  negotiate  a treaty  of  com- 
merce. The  message,  which  was  written  by  Daniel 
Webster,  then  Secretary  of  State,  is  an  able  statement 
of  the  importance  of  such  a mission  and  of  the  relation 
of  the  United  States  to  the  Orient.  While  the  subject 
was  pending  in  Congress  the  selection  of  a proper  per- 
son to  send  at  the  head  of  the  mission  was  much  con- 
sidered. The  President  in  his  message  had  said  that 
in  view  of  the  importance  of  the  object,  ‘^a  citizen  of 
much  intelligence  and  weight  of  character  should  be 
employed,”  and  to  secure  the  services  of  such  an  indi- 
vidual a compensation  should  be  made  corresponding 
with  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  mission. 

Congress  soon  made  the  necessary  appropriation,  and 
Mr.  Webster,  who  was  uncomfortable  in  the  cabinet  of 

1 H.  Doc.  170,26th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  ; 10  Memoirs  of  J.  Q.  Adams,  188  ; 
10  Ib.  444. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES  79 

President  Tyler,  and  was  seeking  a creditable  means  of 
escape  from  his  position,  induced  the  President  to  nom- 
inate Edward  Everett,  then  minister  to  Great  Britain, 
for  the  special  mission  to  China,  expecting  to  succeed 
him  at  the  court  of  St.  James.  But  Mr.  Everett  pre- 
ferred to  remain  in  London,  and  another  nomination 
had  to  be  made.  The  choice  fell  upon  Caleb  Cushing, 
a member  of  Congress  from  Massachusetts.^ 

Mr.  Everett  was  a gentleman  of  refined  manners,  and 
possessed  a highly  cultured  mind,  but  Mr.  Cushing,  a 
shrewd  lawyer  and  a plain-spoken  man,  was  better  fitted 
to  cope  with  Chinese  diplomacy. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Cushing  was  Fletcher  Webster, 
son  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  as  secretary  of  the  lega- 
tion, and  Dr.  Peter  Parker  and  Kev.  E.  C.  Bridgman, 
a missionary  of  Canton,  were  made  Chinese  secretaries. 
A surgeon  was  also  attached  to  the  legation,  and  five 
young  men  accompanied  it  as  attaches.  Mr.  Webster, 
in  his  letter  of  instructions,  had  said  that  a number 
of  young  gentlemen  have  applied  to  be  unpaid  attaches 
to  the  mission.  It  will  add  dignity  and  importance  to 
the  occasion,  if  your  suite  could  be  made  respectable  in 
numbers,  by  accepting  such  offers  of  attendance  with- 
out expense  to  the  government.”  A squadron  of  one 
frigate,  a sloop  of  war,  and  a steam  frigate,  was  placed 
at  the  service  of  Mr.  Cushing  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  to  convey  the  members  of  the  mission  to  China. 
He  thus  went  to  his  post  with  much  more  display  than 
has  been  usual  with  American  diplomats ; and  it  is 

^ 4 Presidents’  Messages,  211 ; A Century  of  American  Diplomacy,  by 
John  W.  Foster,  Boston,  1900,  pp.  289,  296. 


80  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

stated  that  on  his  arrival  at  Macao  he  established  him- 
self in  the  house  of  a former  Portuguese  governor,  and 
created  a profound  sensation  in  the  colony  by  the 
novelty  and  magnitude  of  his  mission  as  well  as  by  his 
attractive  personal  qualities ; ” although  he  reports 
somewhat  regretfully  the  arrival  at  Canton,  just  after 
he  had  completed  his  mission,  of  a French  embassy, 

arranged  on  a scale  of  much  greater  expense  than 
that  of  the  United  States,”  and  well  adapted  for  the 
object  of  making  a strong  impression  on  the  minds  of 
the  Chinese.^ 

The  letter  of  instructions  was  signed  by  Mr.  Web- 
ster, and  it  shows  his  wide  grasp  of  public  questions. 
He  referred  to  the  recent  occurrences  in  China  as 
likely  to  be  of  much  importance  as  well  to  the  United 
States  as  to  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world.  He  anti- 
cipated that  the  imperial  government  would  not  be 
prepared  to  enter  into  close  political  relations ; that  the 
mission  would  be  only  friendly  and  commercial  in  its 
objects ; and  he  dwelt  at  some  length  upon  the  already 
considerable  commerce  and  the  possibility  of  its  enlarge- 
ment. Mr.  Cushing  was  instructed  to  explain  the  geo- 
graphical situation  of  the  United  States,  to  state  that  its 
aims  were  free  from  territorial  aggrandizement  or  ag- 
gression, and  that  neither  he  nor  his  government  would 
encourage  or  protect  its  citizens  in  violating  the  laws  of 
China  as  to  trade.  He  was  also  to  make  clear  that  the 
United  States  would  insist  upon  equality  in  intercourse, 
that  he  was  not  a tribute-bearer,”  and  that  it  was  not 

^ S.  Doc.  138,  28th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  p.  6;  Life  and  Letters  of  S.  Wells 
Williams,  by  F.  W.  Williams,  New  York,  1889,  p.  126. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


81 


the  practice  of  his  government  either  to  give  or  receive 
presents.  He  was  directed  to  reach  Peking,  if  possible, 
in  order  to  place  the  letter  of  the  President  to  the  em- 
peror into  the  hands  of  that  sovereign,  or  of  some  high 
official  in  his  presence,  and  to  consult  the  national  pride 
as  far  as  possible,  but  under  no  circumstances  to  do  any 
act  that  would  imply  the  inferiority  of  his  government. 
It  was  expected  that  he  would  make  a treaty  similar  to 
that  of  Great  Britain,  and  if  he  was  able  to  make  one 
containing  fuller  stipulations,  it  would  be  conducting 
Chinese  intercourse  one  step  further  towards  the  prin- 
ciples which  regulate  the  public  relations  of  the  Euro- 
pean and  American  states. 

While  the  letter  of  instructions  was  dignified  and 
able,  the  letter  signed  by  the  President  and  addressed 
to  the  emperor  of  China  fell  much  below  that  charac- 
ter. In  the  interval  between  Mr.  Cushing’s  appoint- 
ment and  his  departure,  Mr.  Webster  had  retired,  and 
the  Department  of  State  passed  through  ad  interim 
hands,  during  which  time  the  letter  of  the  President  to 
the  emperor  was  drafted.  Its  merit  may  be  seen  from 
the  following  extracts  : — 

I,  John  Tyler,  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America  — which  States  are  [here  follow  the  list]  — 
send  you  this  letter  of  peace  and  friendship,  signed  by 
my  own  hand. 

I hope  your  health  is  good.  China  is  a great  em- 
pire, extending  over  a great  part  of  the  earth.  The 
Chinese  are  numerous.  You  have  millions  and  millions 
of  subjects.  The  twenty-six  United  States  are  as  large 
as  China,  though  our  people  are  not  so  numerous.  The 


82 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


rising  sun  looks  upon  the  great  mountains  and  rivers 
of  China.  When  he  sets,  he  looks  upon  rivers  and 
mountains  equally  large  in  the  United  States.  . . . 
Now  my  words  are,  that  the  governments  of  two  such 
great  countries  should  be  at  peace.  It  is  proper,  and 
according  to  the  will  of  Heaven,  that  we  should  respect 
each  other,  and  act  wisely.  I therefore  send  to  you 
Count  Caleb  Cushing,  one  of  the  wise  and  learned  men 
of  this  country.  On  his  arrival  in  your  country,  he 
will  inquire  for  your  health.  ...  Our  minister  is  au- 
thorized to  make  a treaty  to  regulate  trade.  Let  it  be 
just.  Let  there  be  no  unfair  advantage  on  either  side. 
. . . And  so  may  your  health  be  good,  and  may  peace 
reign.”  ^ 

The  American  squadron  bearing  Mr.  Cushing  and 
his  suite  anchored  off  the  Portuguese  port  of  Macao 
February  24,  1844.  On  the  27th  he  sent  a letter  to 
the  governor-general  of  the  provinces,  of  which  Canton 
is  the  capital,  informing  him  that  he  had  arrived,  hold- 
ing a commission  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  negotiate,  with  a like  commissioner  of  the 
emperor  of  China,  a treaty  to  regulate  the  intercourse 
between  the  two  countries ; that  he  was  on  his  way  to 
Peking  to  deliver  to  the  emperor  a letter  from  the  Pre- 
sident ; but  that  as  his  vessels  must  he  detained  a few 
days  at  Macao  before  proceeding  to  the  Pei-ho,  he  em- 
braced the  occasion  to  address  the  governor-general,  as 
the  nearest  authority,  to  express  the  most  ardent  wishes 
of  his  government  and  himself  for  the  health,  the  hap- 
piness, the  prosperity,  and  the  long  life  of  his  Imperial 
1 S.  Doc.  138,  pp.  1,  8,  28th  Cong.  2d  Sess. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


83 


Majesty ; and  he  asked  of  his  excellency  the  favor  to 
be  immediately  informed  of  the  well-being  of  the  em- 
peror in  order  that  he  might  communicate  it  to  the 
President. 

This  communication  initiated  a correspondence  which 
continued  for  three  months.  The  Chinese  are  accom- 
plished letter  writers,  but  the  governor-general  found 
in  the  astute  American  lawyer  quite  a match  for  him- 
self. The  governor  responded  to  Mr.  Cushing’s  first 
note,  in  which  the  latter  truly,  sincerely,  and  respect- 
fully inquired  after  the  health  and  happiness  of  the 
August  Emperor,  which  evinced  respectful  obedience, 
and  poHteness  exceedingly  to  be  praised ; ” and  he  in- 
formed him  that  the  great  emperor  was  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  happy  old  age  and  quiet  health,  and  was  at 
peace  with  all,  both  far  and  near.  But  as  to  going  to 
Peking,  it  was  not  to  be  thought  of  till,  waiting  outside, 
the  August  Emperor’s  will  ” had  been  ascertained  ; 
that  for  a man-of-war  to  go  hastily  to  Tientsin  was  to 
put  an  end  to  civility,  and  to  rule  without  harmony ; ” 
that  if  the  business  was  to  negotiate  about  trade,  the 
emperor  must  appoint  a commissioner  to  come  to  the 
frontier ; and  that  the  American  envoy  should  await 
at  Macao  till  the  emperor  was  advised  of  his  mission 
and  his  wishes  were  made  known. 

Mr.  Cushing  replied  that  the  Chinese  government 
had  been  notified  by  the  American  consul  several 
months  in  advance  that  he  was  to  arrive  for  the  pur- 
pose of  negotiating  a treaty,^  and  if  it  had  been  the 
desire  of  the  emperor  to  negotiate  at  the  frontier,  he 
1 Consul  Forbes,  Oct.  7, 1843,  Consular  Archives. 


84  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

would  have  sent  a commissioner  to  Canton  for  that  pur- 
pose ; that  he  had  been  instructed  to  go  to  Peking  and 
dehver  the  President’s  letter  to  the  emperor  ; and  if  the 
governor  did  not  think  it  prudent  for  him  to  go  to 
Tientsin  in  a warship,  he  was  ready  to  proceed  to  the 
capital  overland. 

The  governor,  in  response  to  this  proposition,  said 
the  way  was  long  overland,  the  crossing  of  the  rivers 
was  inconvenient,  and  he  desired  to  save  the  American 
envoy  the  great  trouble  and  weariness  the  journey 
would  occasion  him ; that  he  would  notify  the  august 
emperor  of  the  envoy’s  arrival,  and  memorialize  the 
throne  for  the  appointment  of  a commissioner ; and 
that  in  the  mean  time  he  should  tranquillize  himself  ” 
at  Macao,  as  otherwise  his  niovements  might  eventuate 
in  the  loss  of  the  invaluable  blessing  of  peace. 

There  seemed  nothing  else  for  Mr.  Cushing  to  do  but 
accept  the  situation,  nevertheless  he  found  enough  to 
occupy  the  months  consumed  in  learning  the  emperor’s 
will.  The  commander  of  the  flagship,  the  Brandywine, 
thought  to  take  a sail  up  the  river  to  Canton,  but  he 
was  stopped  at  Whampoa,  and  ordered  to  return  to  the 
anchorage  at  Macao.  Mr.  Cushing  protested  that  it 
was  only  a friendly  visit,  but  he  was  told  that  the  Brit- 
ish governor  of  Hongkong  after  the  peace,  in  making 
a visit  to  Canton,  left  his  ship  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
and  came  up  in  a small  boat ; that  the  commander  of 
the  Brandywine  must  do  likewise,  and  by  a return  of 
his  ship  to  Macao  he  would  obey  the  fixed  laws  of  the 
land,  and  exhibit  the  courteous  friendliness  subsisting 
between  the  two  nations. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


85 


After  two  and  a half  months  had  passed,  Mr.  Cush- 
ing was  advised  of  the  emperor’s  decision.  “ America 
never  as  yet  having  gone  through  with  presenting  trib- 
ute,” the  coming  to  Tientsin  and  the  capital  to  nego- 
tiate would  be  irregular ; that  he  had  appointed  as 
high  commissioner  with  the  imperial  seal,  Tsiyeng  (or 
Kiying) ; and  that  he  was  traveling  with  all  speed  to 
Canton  to  meet  the  American  plenipotentiary.  The 
appointment  of  Tsiyeng  was  a happy  one,  as  he  pos- 
sessed fully  the  emperor’s  confidence,  and  had  shown 
his  fitness  for  the  work  in  the  supplementary  treaty  as 
to  trade  which  he  had  a few  months  before  agreed  upon 
with  the  British  plenipotentiary. 

On  the  9th  of  June  Mr.  Cushing  received  a letter 
from  Tsiyeng,  advising  him  of  his  arrival  in  Canton, 
and  added  that  in  a few  days  we  shall  take  each  other 
by  the  hand,  and  converse  and  rejoice  together  with 
indescribable  delight.”  In  view  of  the  many  delays 
and  tergiversations  experienced,  doubtless  Mr.  Cushing 
accepted  this  as  a somewhat  exaggerated  figure  of 
speech.  But  his  relations  with  Tsiyeng  proved  in  the 
main  quite  satisfactory.  Only  one  untoward  incident 
need  be  noticed.  In  the  address  of  two  of  the  com- 
munications of  the  commissioner,  the  name  of  the  Chi- 
nese government  stood  higher  in  column  by  one  char- 
acter than  that  of  the  United  States,  a Chinese  method 
of  indicating  the  relative  dignity  of  the  parties  to  a 
correspondence.  Mr.  Cushing  returned  the  letters  with 
an  expression  of  his  belief  that  his  excellency  would 
see  the  evident  propriety  of  adhering  to  the  form  of 


86  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

national  equality/’  Tsiyeng  immediately  caused  the 
address  to  be  corrected  and  returned/ 

The  Chinese  high  commissioner  and  his  suite  arrived 
at  Macao  on  June  16.  After  a few  days  spent  in  the 
exchange  of  visits  and  social  courtesies,  the  formal  nego- 
tiations were  opened  on  the  21st,  by  the  submission  of 
a draft  of  treaty  proposed  by  Mr.  Cushing.  The  Sec- 
retary, Mr.  W ebster,  and  the  two  Chinese  secretaries  of 
the  legation  met  three  members  of  the  Chinese  embassy, 
and  discussed  the  project  in  detail,  with  occasional  con- 
ferences between  Mr.  Cushing  and  Tsiyeng.  The  treaty 
was  concluded  without  any  serious  difficulty,  and  pre- 
liminary to  its  signature  a dinner  was  given  to  the  Chi- 
nese embassy  at  the  house  of  the  American  legation, 
attended  by  the  American  ladies  residing  at  Macao. 

On  July  3,  1844,  the  treaty  was  signed  at  the  temple 
occupied  by  the  Chinese  embassy,  in  a suburb  of  Macao 
called  Wang  Hiya.  The  ceremony  of  signing  was  a 
simple  one,  the  members  of  the  legation  and  embassy 
being  the  only  witnesses,  and  no  presents  were  made. 
After  the  execution  of  the  treaty,  an  entertainment 
was  served  by  the  Chinese,  and  congratulations  were 
exchanged  on  the  speedy  and  happy  issue  of  the  nego- 
tiations. A singfular  fact  attended  these  events.  Mr. 
Cushing  had  not  set  foot  on  Chinese  territory  nor  had 
he  had  personal  intercourse  with  a single  high  Chinese 
official  except  the  embassy  up  to  the  time  of  signing 
the  treaty,  and  that  instrument  had  been  negotiated 
and  executed  on  foreign  (Portuguese)  territory. 

^ For  full  correspondence,  S.  Ex.  Doc.  67,  pp.  2-38,  28th  Cong.  2d 
Sess. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


87 


Mr.  Cushing  having  abandoned  the  idea  of  going  to 
Peking,  the  letter  of  the  President  to  the  emperor  of 
China  was  delivered  to  Tsiyeng  at  the  time  of  signing 
the  treaty,  upon  his  assurance  that  he  would  respect- 
fully forward  it  to  his  august  sovereign. 

In  transmitting  a copy  of  the  treaty  to  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Mr.  Cushing  pointed  out  sixteen  particulars  in 
which  his  treaty  contained  provisions  not  embraced  in 
the  British  treaty  negotiated  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
war.  In  his  dispatch  he  says : “ I ascribe  all  possible 
honor  to  the  ability  displayed  by  Sir  Henry  Pottinger 
in  China,  and  to  the  success  which  attended  his  nego- 
tiations ; and  I recognize  the  debt  of  gratitude  which 
the  United  States  and  all  other  nations  owe  to  England, 
for  what  she  has  accomphshed  in  China.  From  all  this 
much  benefit  has  accrued  to  the  United  States.  But, 
in  return,  the  treaty  of  Wang  Hiya,  in  the  new  pro- 
visions it  makes,  confers  a great  benefit  on  the  com- 
merce of  the  British  empire ; . . . and  thus  whatever 
progress  either  government  makes  in  opening  this  vast 
empire  to  the  influence  of  foreign  commerce  is  for  the 
common  good  of  each  other  and  of  all  Christendom.”  ^ 

One  of  the  most  important  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Cushing  treaty  was  that  relating  to  what  is  known  in 
international  law  as  ^^exterritoriality,”  as  applied  to 
non-Christian  countries.  This  principle  had  been  ob- 
served to  a limited  extent  for  many  years  between  the 
European  and  Mohammedan  countries ; but  in  this 
treaty  it  was  broadened  and  made  more  explicit  by  the 

1 For  text  of  treaty,  see  Treaties  and  Conventions  of  United  States, 
144  ; for  correspondence,  S.  Ex.  Doc.  67  cited,  pp.  38,  77. 


88 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


skill  of  an  able  lawyer.  In  criminal  cases  the  offender 
was  to  be  tried  by  the  laws  and  authorities  of  his  own 
country.  In  civil  cases  between  American  citizens  in 
China  their  consuls  were  to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction, 
and  civil  cases  between  Americans  and  Chinese  were  to 
be  adjusted  by  the  joint  action  of  the  authorities  of  the 
two  nations. 

On  this  subject  Mr.  Cushing’s  position  was  that 
Western  nations  could  not  make  civilization  the  test  of 
equality  of  intercourse,  for  it  was  impossible  to  deny  to 
China  a high  degree  of  civilization,  though,  in  many 
respects,  differing  from  theirs  ; but  it  is  such  as  to  give 
to  her  as  complete  a title  to  the  appellation  of  civilized, 
as  many,  if  not  most,  of  the  states  of  Christendom  can 
claim.  In  an  exhaustive  review  of  the  subject  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  he  said : I entered  China  with 

the  formed  general  conviction,  that  the  United  States 
ought  not  to  concede  to  any  foreign  state,  under  any 
circumstances,  jurisdiction  over  the  life  and  liberty  of 
any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  unless  that  foreign 
state  be  of  our  own  family  of  nations ; in  a word,  a 
Christian  state.  The  states  of  Christendom  are  bound 
together  by  treaties,  which  confer  mutual  rights  and 
prescribe  reciprocal  obligations.  . . . How  different  the 
condition  of  things  out  of  the  limits  of  Christendom. 
...  As  between  them  and  us,  there  is  no  community 
of  ideas,  no  common  law  of  nations,  no  interchange  of 
good  offices.”  To  none  of  the  governments  of  this 
character  did  it  seem  to  him  safe  to  commit  the  lives 
and  liberties  of  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

The  privilege  of  exterritoriality  had  a very  early 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


89 


origin,  but  in  its  modern  application  it  may  be  traced 
to  the  time  of  the  occupation  of  Constantinople  by 
Mohammed  II.,  when  he  freely  gave  to  the  Christian 
residents  substantially  the  same  privileges  they  had 
previously  enjoyed.  It  was  done  as  much  for  the  con- 
venience of  the  sovereign  as  for  the  foreign  powers. 
As  early  as  the  ninth  century  the  Chinese  granted 
special  privileges  to  the  Arabs,  who  built  a mosque  at 
Canton  and  were  governed  by  their  own  laws.  During 
the  intercourse  of  the  Cantonese  authorities  with  Euro- 
peans up  to  the  time  of  the  Opium  War,  the  latter  were 
not  interfered  with  except  in  criminal  acts  against  Chi- 
nese. The  Portuguese  at  Macao  were  given  local  self- 
government,  and  the  consuls  in  the  foreign  settlement 
outside  of  Canton  were  permitted  to  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  their  countrymen.  Hence  it  was  not  difficult  for 
Mr.  Cushing  to  secure  the  large  grant  of  treaty  powers 
indicated.  For  the  enforcement  of  these  powers  in  for- 
eign countries  Congress  has  passed  various  statutes.^ 
His  services  in  this  respect  gained  for  Mr.  Cushing 
much  credit,  and  his  treaty,  because  of  its  fullness  of 
detail  and  its  clear  statement  of  rights,  became  the 
leading  authority  in  settling  disputes  between  the  Chi- 
nese and  foreigners  up  to  the  treaty  revision  of  1858- 
1860.  A high  British  authority  of  the  period,  already 
cited,  writes : The  United  States  government  in  their 

treaty  with  China,  and  in  vigilant  protection  of  their 

1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  58,  p.  4,  28th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  ; Cushing’s  Opinion,  7 
Opinions  Attys.  Genl.  342  ; President  Angell  in  6 Am.  Hist.  Review,  Jan- 
uary, 1901,  p.  255.  An  act  was  passed  by  the  30th  Congress  in  1848,  see 
9 U.  S.  Stat.  at  L.  276  ; also  U.  S.  Revised  Statutes,  sects.  4083-4130. 


90  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

subjects  at  Canton,  have  evinced  far  better  diplomacy, 
and  more  attention  to  substantial  interests  than  we  have 
done,  although  it  has  not  cost  them  as  many  groats  as 
we  have  spent  guineas,  while  their  position  in  China  is 
really  more  advantageous  and  respected  than  that  of 
England,  after  all  our  sacrifices  of  blood  and  trea- 
sure.’’ ^ 

But  it  was  not  the  good  fortune  of  the  American 
envoy  to  escape  criticism  entirely.  His  intercourse  with 
the  Chinese  plenipotentiary  seemed  to  have  been  of  a 
very  satisfactory  character,  but  when  Tsiyeng  came  to 
send  his  report  to  the  emperor  he  was  neither  polite 
nor  complimentary  in  the  use  of  language,  as  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  from  his  memorial  show : The  original 

copy  of  the  treaty,  presented  by  the  said  barbarian 
envoy,  contained  forty-seven  stipulations.  Of  these 
some  were  difficult  of  execution,  others  foolish  demands ; 
and  the  treaty  was,  moreover,  so  meanly  and  coarsely 
expressed,  the  words  and  sentences  were  so  obscure,  and 
there  was  such  a variety  of  errors,  that  it  was  next  to 
impossible  to  point  them  out.  Your  slave  Tsiyeng, 
therefore,  directed  the  treasurer  Hwang  and  all  the 
deputed  mandarins  to  hold  interviews  with  the  Amer- 
icans for  days  together.  We  clearly  pointed  out  what- 
ever was  comprehensible  to  reason,  in  order  to  dispel 
their  stupid  ignorance,  and  to  put  a stop  to  delusive 
hopes ; and  we  were  obliged  to  polish  those  passages 
which  were  scarcely  intelligible.  . . . Some  points  have 
been  discussed  more  than  a thousand  times  at  least, 
others  five  or  six  times.  It  was  then  that  the  said  bar- 

1 Williams’s  Hist.  China,  215  ; 1 Montgomery  Martin’s  China,  428. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


91 


barian  envoy  submitted  to  reason,  and  being  at  a loss 
what  to  say,  was  willing  and  agreed  to  have  the  objec- 
tionable clauses  expunged.’’  ^ An  examination  of  Tsi- 
yeng’s  extended  memorial  shows  that  it  was  his  own 
ignorance  of  international  law  and  the  usages  of  nations 
that  made  Mr.  Cushing’s  first  treaty  draft  a labyrinth 
of  mysteries  to  him.  The  latter,  after  he  had  con- 
cluded his  negotiations,  spoke  of  his  Chinese  colleague 
in  high  terms  as  a liberal-minded  statesman.”  Possi- 
bly Mr.  Cushing  might  have  modified  his  estimate  of  his 
character  had  he  been  aware  of  his  report  to  the  em- 
peror. It  will  be  seen  that  Tsiyeng’s  later  career  did 
not  justify  it. 

Although  the  special  duty  which  brought  Mr.  Cush- 
ing to  China  had  been  accomplished  in  the  signing  of 
the  treaty,  he  remained  for  some  time  to  care  for  the 
interests  of  the  American  residents.  Among  other 
matters  he  concerted  an  arrangement  with  the  gov- 
ernor-general for  the  extension  of  the  grounds  of  his 
countrymen  at  Canton,  the  construction  of  a solid  wall 
about  the  factories,  the  erection  of  gates  to  the  foreign 
settlement,  and  the  establishment  of  an  efficient  police 
for  its  protection  and  the  enforcement  of  sanitary  regu- 
lations. 

The  coming  of  the  mission  was  the  innocent  cause  of 
much  trouble  to  the  Cantonese  and  foreign  residents, 
for  the  squadron  which  bore  it  also  brought  to  the 
American  consul  a new  flagstaff  and  weather-vane. 
About  the  time  of  its  erection  sickness  prevailed  to  an 
unusual  extent  in  Canton  and  its  vicinity,  and  it  was 

^ 1 Montgomery  Martin’s  China,  424. 


92  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

attributed  to  the  evil  effects  of  the  weather-vane.  The 
feeling  became  so  intense  that  the  consulate  was  threat- 
ened by  a mob,  and  in  order  to  quell  the  excitement 
the  weather-vane  had  to  be  removed.  The  native 
gentry,  appreciating  the  conciliatory  action  of  the  con- 
sul, issued  a proclamation  to  the  people  to  quiet  their 
animosity,  in  which  they  described  the  vane  which 
shot  towards  all  quarters,  thereby  causing  serious  im- 
pediment to  the  fehcity  and  good  fortunes  of  the 
land.”  Commending  the  conduct  of  the  consul  and  his 
countrymen,  the  proclamation  closes  thus  : Having 

shown  themselves  obliging,  we  ought  to  excuse  them. 
Henceforth,  we  sincerely  pray  that  all  may  be  at  peace, 
and  thus  looking  up  we  may  participate  in  our  emper- 
or’s earnest  desire  to  regard  people  from  afar  with 
compassion.” 

While  the  negotiations  for  the  treaty  were  in  progress 
at  Macao  a mob  assaulted  the  foreign  settlement,  and 
in  self-defense  a party  of  Americans  fired  upon  the 
assailants  and  a Chinaman  was  killed.  The  authorities 
demanded  the  delivery  of  the  party  firing  the  fatal  shot, 
and  a correspondence  ensued  between  Mr.  Cushing  and 
Tsiyeng.  A jury  of  Americans,  impaneled  by  the 
consul,  examined  the  affair  and  decided  that  it  was 
clearly  an  act  of  self-defense,  and  Mr.  Cushing  induced 
the  authorities  to  accept  this  investigation  as  a satisfac- 
tory form  of  trial.  It  is  noted  as  the  first  criminal  case 
in  China  after  the  negotiation  of  the  treaties  in  which 
the  practice  of  exterritoriality  was  recognized.^ 

^ 13  Chinese  Repository,  276  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  67,  p.  62,  cited  ; 1 Mont- 
gomery Martin’s  China,  413. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


93 


Severe  criticism  has  been  passed  upon  Mr.  Cushing  for 
not  executing  the  instructions  of  his  government  to  go 
to  Peking,  and,  upon  his  arrival  at  Canton,  for  permit- 
ting himself  to  be  diverted  from  his  announced  inten- 
tion to  proceed  to  Tientsin  with  his  naval  squadron. 
He  evidently  felt  the  force  of  this  criticism,  as  he  made 
his  action  in  this  regard  the  subject  of  several  dis- 
patches to  the  Secretary  of  State.  It  is  apparent  from 
the  correspondence  that  he  could  not  have  persisted  in 
his  purpose  to  go  to  Tientsin  without  awakening  the 
suspicion,  if  not  hostility,  of  the  Chinese ; neither 
would  he  have  been  permitted  to  hold  audience  with 
the  emperor  at  Peking,  without  submitting  to  indigni- 
ties in  conflict  with  his  instructions  and  his  own  sense 
of  independence  and  honor.  The  main  purpose  of  his 
mission  was  to  secure  a treaty  to  protect  Americans  in 
their  commerce.  This  he  successfully  accomplished. 
He  would  possibly  have  failed  in  this  object  had  he 
gone  to  Tientsin.  A British  writer  says,  that  upon 
the  arrival  of  the  French  embassy,  with  a large  naval 
force,  the  French  envoy  proposed  to  Mr.  Cushing  to 
go  jointly  to  Tientsin,  and  insist  upon  an  audience  of 
the  emperor.^  Mr.  Cushing  makes  no  mention  of  this 
in  his  correspondence,  but  if  such  a proposition  was 
made  he  acted  wisely  in  declining  it.  His  treaty  had 
already  been  signed  with  a cordial  exchange  of  con- 
gratulations, and  a hostile  demonstration  so  near  the 
capital  would  have  been  justly  interpreted  by  the  Chi- 
nese as  a breach  of  good  faith. 

1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  67,  pp.  32,  34,  39,  58  ; 1 Montgomery  Martin’s  China, 
424. 


94 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


On  August  27 , 1844,  just  six  months  after  his  arrival, 
Mr.  Cushing  sailed  from  Macao,  for  San  Bias,  Mexico, 
whence  he  proceeded  overland  to  Vera  Cruz,  and  thence 
to  Washing’ton. 

The  man  who  so  skillfully  conducted  the  negotiations 
which  initiated  the  diplomatic  intercourse  of  the  United 
States  with  the  great  empire  of  China  calls  for  more 
than  a passing  notice.  He  was  a unique  figure  in 
American  political  affairs,  and  occupied  a prominent 
place  before  the  public  for  more  than  forty  years. 
After  graduating  at  Harvard  College  he  devoted  him- 
self to  the  law,  and  began  public  life  as  a Jeffersonian 
Democrat ; he  successively  held  the  offices  of  member 
of  the  legislature,  member  of  congress,  and  justice  of 
the  supreme  court  of  Massachusetts ; joined  the  Whig 
party  in  the  campaign  of  1840 ; transferred  his  party 
allegiance  to  Tyler  on  the  death  of  Harrison  as  Presi- 
dent ; for  many  years  was  an  ardent  Democrat,  strongly 
supporting  the  Mexican  war,  in  which  he  was  a general ; 
a faithful  adlierent  of  the  Southern  wing  of  the  party 
at  the  Charleston  and  Baltimore  conventions,  which 
nominated  Breckinridge  as  the  proslavery  candidate 
for  President  in  1860 ; became  a supporter  of  Lincoln 
and  the  Union  cause ; a follower  of  President  Johnson, 
and  again  a Republican  during  the  Grant  administra- 
tion. Thrice  was  he  nominated  by  Tyler  as  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  and  thrice  rejected  by  the  Senate ; he 
held  the  post  of  Attorney-General  under  Pierce;  and 
was  three  times  minister  to  foreign  countries ; and  his 
last  public  .duty  was  as  counsel,  associated  with  Evarts 
and  Waite,  before  the  Geneva  tribunal  of  arbitration. 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


95 


No  man  of  his  time  had  such  a checkered  pohtical 
career. 

He  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  and  one  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  in  the  United  States.  Few  men  of  his  genera- 
tion rendered  such  important  services  to  his  country. 
Yet,  notwithstanding  his  acknowledged  abilities,  his 
character  was  not  such  as  to  command  public  confi- 
dence. He  was  nominated  by  President  Grant  to  be 
chief  justice  of  the  supreme  court,  but  the  Senate  failed 
to  confirm  him.  He  is  one  of  several  examples  in 
American  history,  where  moral  obliquity  has,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  American  people,  been  an  obstacle  to 
a public  man’s  preferment. 

The  negotiation  of  a treaty  with  France  soon  followed 
that  made  with  the  United  States  in  1844,  and  both  the 
Chinese  and  foreigners  began  to  adapt  themselves  to  the 
new  conditions.  But  more  or  less  trouble  was  experi- 
enced at  all  of  the  five  treaty  ports  and  more  especially 
at  Canton.  Here  the  unruly  population  resisted  the 
proclamation,  issued  by  the  governor-general  in  execu- 
tion of  the  treaties,  to  open  the  city  to  the  intercourse 
of  foreigners;  riots  occurred  in  which  the  American  and 
other  consulates  and  commercial  houses  were  threat- 
ened, and  the  opposition  continued  so  serious  that  the 
attempt  to  open  the  gates  was  abandoned,  and  Canton 
remained  closed  till  the  war  of  1858.^  In  lieu  of  the 
observance  of  the  treaties  in  this  respect,  the  area  of 
the  foreign  settlements  outside  the  walls  was  enlarged, 
and  in  other  respects  the  authorities  manifested  a fair 
degree  of  interest  in  the  enforcement  of  the  treaties. 

^ 15  Chinese  Repository,  46,  364. 


96  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

American  commerce  seemed  to  have  received  an  im- 
pulse from  the  treaties.  The  arrivals  of  American 
ships  in  1848  are  reported  as  follows:  67  at  Canton, 
20  at  Shanghai,  and  8 at  Amoy,  standing  first  after 
the  British.  It  is  seen  that  Canton  still  held  the  bulk 
of  the  trade  as  against  Shanghai,  which  was  soon  to 
become  the  centre  of  foreign  commerce. 

Upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Cushing  in  1845,  Alex- 
ander H.  Everett  was  appointed  commissioner  to  China. 
He  reached  Canton  in  October,  1846,  in  ill  health,  and 
died  at  that  place  June  29,  1847.  He  had  had  large 
diplomatic  experience,  having  been  minister  at  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, The  Hague,  and  Madrid,  and  was  a gentleman 
of  high  natural  endowments  and  literary  attainments. 
His  death  so  soon  after  his  arrival  at  his  post  was 
much  lamented,  and  his  obsequies  were  attended  by  all 
the  foreign  officials,  diplomatic,  consular,  and  military. 
His  successor  was  John  W.  Davis,  of  Indiana. 

The  residence  of  the  American  diplomatic  representa- 
tive was  nominally  in  the  foreign  settlement  outside  the 
walls  of  Canton,  but  until  the  opening  of  Peking  to  the 
diplomatic  representatives  of  the  treaty  powers  in  1860 
their  residence  was  of  a peripatetic  character.  The  im- 
perial government  delegated  a high  commissioner  to  re- 
side at  Canton,  with  w^hom  the  foreign  representatives 
were  to  hold  diplomatic  intercourse,  but  the  sequel  wiU 
show  that  audience  with  him  was  rarely  attainable,  and 
the  diplomats  found  a residence  at  the  Portuguese  port 
of  Macao  more  agreeable.  The  rising  commercial  im- 
portance of  Shanghai  led  to  frequent  visits  by  them  to 
that  place,  and  Hongkong,  where  the  British  governor 


THE  FIRST  CHINESE  TREATIES 


97 


was  established,  was  also  found  a convenient  place  of 
call  or  temporary  sojourn.  It  required  another  war 
and  the  march  of  hostile  armies  into  the  Chinese  cap- 
ital to  open  it  to  the  visit  and  residence  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  foreign  powers. 


IV 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 

The  situation  and  resources  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
pointed  them  out  to  early  navigators  as  destined  to 
play  an  important  part  in  the  commercial  and  political 
affairs  of  the  Pacific.  Standing  alone  in  the  great 
ocean,  the  group  must  necessarily  act  as  an  outpost  of 
the  North  American  continent.  Lying  in  the  track  of 
navigation  from  the  central  part  of  that  continent  to 
the  great  islands  in  the  South  Pacific,  and  in  the  direct 
course  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  Japan  and  China, 
it  was  plain  their  harbors  would  become  the  resort  of  the 
shipping  of  the  world.  The  trade  winds  which  con- 
stantly fanned  their  shores  and  the  cold  currents  from 
the  Arctic  seas  made  for  these  islands  within  the  tropics 
a most  healthful  and  delicious  climate.  The  genial  sun, 
the  plentiful  rains,  and  the  mountain  elevations  caused 
the  soil  to  respond  to  every  desire  of  man.  It  was  verily 
the  Paradise  of  the  Pacific, 

The  islands  were  not  discovered  until  two  years  after 
the  United  States  had  declared  its  independence.  But 
in  the  very  year  that  the  new  government  was  set  in 
motion  under  President  Washington,  American  traders 
established  themselves  there  and  initiated  a commerce, 
which,  with  these  islands  as  a base  of  operations,  soon 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


99 


grew  into  a flourishing  and  lucrative  trade,  and  for  the 
succeeding  century  made  the  American  influence  the 
predominating  factor  in  their  destinies. 

Keference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fur  trade 
which  was  early  carried  on  by  the  vessels  of  the  United 
States  between  the  northwest  coast  of  America  and 
Canton.  This  trade  had  its  origin  in  the  action  of 
several  merchants  of  Boston  in  1787,  who  formed  an 
association  for  the  purpose  of  combining  the  fur  trade 
of  that  coast  with  the  Chinese  trade.  With  this  object 
in  view  they  freighted  two  ships,  the  Columbia,  Captain 
Kendrick,  and  the  Washington,  Captain  Gray,  with 
articles  especially  adapted  for  barter  with  the  Indians, 
and  the  vessels  set  sail,  via  Cape  Horn,  on  their  long 
voyage  through  an  unknown  sea.  After  many  trials 
they  reached  their  destination,  in  1788,  exchanged  their 
merchandise  for  furs,  loaded  them  on  the  Columbia, 
under  command  of  Gray,  which  vessel  made  the  voyage 
to  Canton,  there  bartered  the  furs  for  a cargo  of  tea 
and  returned  to  Boston  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
after  an  absence  of  three  years,  thus  having  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  first  ship  to  carry  the  American  flag 
around  the  world. 

Kendrick,  with  the  Washington,  remained  on  the 
coast,  and  afterwards  established  himself  on  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands,  where  he  lost  his  life  by  accident  in 
1793.  Gray  left  Boston  on  his  second  trading  voyage 
in  1790,  and  it  was  in  the  course  of  this  expedition  that 
he  discovered  and  entered  the  Columbia  River.  To  the 
Boston  fur  traders  must  be  ascribed  the  credit  of  lay- 
ing the  foundation  of  the  great  territorial  possessions 


100 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


of  the  United  States  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  conti- 
nent.^ 

The  pioneer  venture  of  the  Columbia  marked  out 
the  course  of  traf&c  to  be  pursued  by  the  many  ships 
which  soon  followed.  They  sailed  mainly  from  the 
ports  of  New  England,  ladened  with  merchandise  and 
trinkets  for  the  Indians,  and  passing  around  Cape  Horn 
went  direct  to  the  northwest  coast.  Here  they  ex- 
changed with  the  natives  their  goods  for  furs.  As  the 
inclement  weather  approached  they  resorted  to  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands,  where  they  spent  the  winter  drying  and 
curing  their  peltries.  The  following  spring  found  them 
again  trading  along  the  American  coast,  whence  return- 
ing to  the  islands  they  took  on  board  the  skins  gathered 
the  year  before,  and  sailed  for  Canton.  By  the  sale  or 
barter  of  these  furs  they  laid  in  a cargo  of  teas,  silks, 
porcelain,  etc.,  and  returned  to  the  United  States  after 
an  absence  of  two  or  three  years.  The  profits  of  this 
trade,  as  already  shown,  were  very  large,  amounting  in 
successful  voyages,  according  to  some  narratives,  to 
one  thousand  per  cent,  every  second  year.”  But  it 
involved  great  perils  and  arduous  labors,  and  called 
forth  energy,  courage,  and  skill — characteristics  which 
distinguished  the  early  American  navigators.^ 

Captain  Vancouver,  R.  N.,  who  was  sent  out  by  the 

^ Hist,  of  Oregon,  etc.,  R.  Greenhow,  Boston,  1845,  pp.  179,  200,  229, 
235  ; Oregon  and  Eldorado,  T.  Bulfinch,  Boston,  1866,  pp.  1-3  ; North- 
west Fur  Trade,  W.  Sturgis,  Hunt’s  Mag.  xiv.  534. 

* Hist,  of  Oregon,  R.  Greenhow,  266  ; 1 Astoria,  Washington  Irving, 
New  York,  p.  31  ; Adventures  of  the  First  Settlers,  etc.,  A.  Ross,  Lon- 
don, 1849,  p.  4 ; Hist,  of  Hawaiian  People,  W.  D.  Alexander,  New  York, 
1891,  p.  127. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


101 


British  government  on  a voyage  of  discovery,  visited 
these  islands  in  1792,  and  found  American  traders  al- 
ready located  there.  He  discourses  at  some  length  in 
his  narrative  upon  the  commercial  interests  they  are 
endeavoring  to  establish  in  these  seas  5 refers  to  the 
new  industry  being  developed  by  them  in  sandalwood, 
which  abounded  in  the  islands  and  commanded  an  ex- 
orbitant price  in  China  and  India ; and  he  states  that 
such  immense  profits  had  been  derived  by  the  Ameri- 
cans from  the  fur  trade  that  it  was  expected  as  many 
as  twenty  vessels  would  arrive  the  next  season  from 
New  England  to  engage  in  the  industry.  Captain  De- 
lano of  Boston,  already  cited  as  an  early  voyager  of 
extensive  travels,  spent  some  time  at  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  in  1801.  He  speaks  of  a company  of  Boston 
merchants  which  had  been  established  there  for  some 
years  engaged  in  the  fur  and  sandalwood  trade,  which 
they  had  found  very  profitable ; and  he  predicted  the 
future  importance  of  the  islands  because  of  their  cen- 
tral situation,  the  delightful  climate,  and  fertile  soil. 
For  twenty  or  thirty  years  the  Americans  had  almost 
the  exclusive  control  of  this  lucrative  trade,  for  the 
reason  that  the  Russians  were  limited  to  the  overland 
intercourse  with  China,  and  private  British  ships  were 
excluded  from  the  Canton  market  by  the  monopoly  of 
the  East  India  Company,  which  did  not  venture  into 
the  fur  trade.  Sandalwood  proved  a great  additional 
source  of  profit  to  the  Americans,  as  it  also  was  to  the 
islanders.  The  king  and  chiefs  held  the  cutting  of  the 
wood  as  a special  privilege,  and  it  was  described  as  a 
mine  of  wealth  ’’  for  them.  By  means  of  it  they  were 


102  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

enabled  to  supply  themselves  with  schooners,  boats, 
arms,  ammunition,  liquors,  etc.  Writers  of  the  period 
refer  to  sandalwood  as  the  standard  coin,’’  it  bemg 
for  the  natives  the  chief  article  of  barter.^ 

In  the  course  of  time,  however,  the  character  of  the 
commerce  and  intercourse  with  the  islands  changed. 
For  various  reasons  the  fur  trade  lost  much  of  its  value, 
and  the  supply  of  sandalwood  began  to  be  exhausted. 
In  this  languishing  state  of  trade,  an  industry,  new  to 
the  North  Pacific,  suddenly  sprang  into  importance,  but 
fortunately  for  the  American  supremacy  in  the  islands 
it  was  one  in  which  they  had  long  held  preeminence  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  The  first  vessel  engaged  in 
whaling  arrived  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands  in  1819,  but 
the  number  rapidly  multiplied  and  the  commerce  of  the 
islands  was  soon  transformed  by  them. 

While  they  were  yet  colonists  of  Great  Britain,  the 
Americans  had  shown  their  superior  skill  in  the  whal- 
ing industry.  The  statistics  show  that  in  1775  the 
principal  countries  engaged  in  it  were  as  follows : 
France,  a very  few  vessels;  Holland,  129  vessels;  Eng- 
land, 96;  while  the  American  colonies  had  309  vessels, 
manned  by  4000  seamen,  with  a product  in  oil  and 
whalebone  of  $1,111,000  in  value.  Edmund  Burke, 
in  his  famous  speech  for  conciliation  with  the  colonies, 
devoted  one  of  his  eloquent  passages  to  the  American 
whaler.  He  said  : Look  at  the  manner  in  which  the 

people  of  New  England  have  of  late  carried  on  the 

^ 1 A Voyage  of  Discovery,  etc.,  Captain  George  Vancouver,  London, 
1798,  pp.  172,  188  ; Delano’s  Voyages,  397,  399  ; Alexander’s  Hawaii, 
156  ; Papers  of  Hawaiian  Hist.  Society,  No.  8,  p.  15. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


103 


whale  fishery.  Whilst  we  follow  them  among  the  tum- 
bhng  mountains  of  ice,  and  behold  them  penetrating 
into  the  deepest  recesses  of  Hudson’s  Bay  and  Davis’s 
Straits,  whilst  we  are  looking  for  them  beneath  the 
Arctic  circle,  we  hear  that  they  have  pierced  into  the 
opposite  region  of  Polar  cold — that  they  are  at  the  An- 
tipodes, and  engaged  under  the  frozen  serpent  of  the 
South.  ...  No  ocean  but  what  is  vexed  with  their 
fisheries,  no  climate  that  is  not  witness  to  their  toils. 
Neither  the  perseverance  of  Holland,  nor  the  activity 
of  France,  nor  the  dextrous  and  firm  sagacity  of 
English  enterprise,  ever  carried  their  perilous  mode 
of  hardy  enterprise  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  been 
pushed  by  this  recent  people  — a people  who  are  still, 
as  it  were,  in  the  gristle,  and  not  yet  hardened  into 
the  bone  of  manhood.”  ^ 

The  war  of  the  Revolution,  from  which  Burke  would 
have  gladly  saved  them,  and  which  suspended  their  ac- 
tivity in  that  direction,  did  not  turn  the  New  Englanders 
from  their  chosen  avocation.  Within  two  months  after 
the  preliminary  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  and  before 
the  permanent  treaty  had  been  agreed  upon,  a London 
newspaper  of  the  period  announced : On  the  third  of 

February,  1783,  the  ship  Bedford,  Captain  Moores,  be- 
longing to  Massachusetts,  arrived  in  the  Downs.  She 
was  not  allowed  regular  entry  until  after  some  consul- 
tation between  the  commissioners  of  customs  and  the 
Lords  of  the  Council,  on  account  of  the  many  acts  of 
Parliament  yet  in  force  against  the  rebels  of  America. 
She  was  loaded  with  587  barrels  of  whale  oil  and  manned 

1 2 Works  of  Edmund  Burke,  Boston,  1866,  p.  117. 


104  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

wholly  with  American  seamen,  and  belonged  to  the  island 
of  Nantucket.  The  vessel  lay  at  the  Horsley-Downs,  a 
little  below  the  Tower,  and  was  the  first  which  displayed 
the  thirteen  stripes  of  America  in  any  British  port.” 

Notwithstanding  this  early  indication  of  activity,  the 
whale  fishery  did  not  quickly  assume  its  former  propor- 
tions, owing  to  the  heavy  bounties  of  other  governments 
and  the  embarrassment  to  our  commerce  from  the  Na- 
poleonic wars.  Not  till  after  the  second  war  with  Eng- 
land did  the  American  industry  regain  its  ascendancy. 
These  reasons  explain  the,  late  appearance  of  its  whaling 
vessels  in  the  Pacific.  In  1847,  when  the  industry  was 
near  its  height,  it  is  estimated  that  the  total  number  of 
vessels  of  all  nations  engaged  was  about  900,  and  that 
of  this  number  more  than  800  were  Americans,  repre- 
senting an  investment  of  $20,000,000  and  an  annual 
product  of  $13,000,000. 

The  whaling  vessels  visiting  the  Hawaiian  Islands 
soon  increased.  Six  arrived  the  year  after  the  first  one 
appeared  in  1819,  the  year  following  more  than  thirty 
are  reported,  and  in  1822  twenty-four  whalers  were  seen 
in  Honolulu  at  one  time.  From  that  period  forward  to 
the  Civil  War,  when  the  American  whaling  fleet  was 
almost  swept  from  the  ocean  by  the  Confederate  cruisers, 
the  whaling  interest  was  the  prominent  feature  of  the 
island  commerce.  The  number  of  vessels  entered  at 
the  port  of  Honolulu  for  twenty  years  from  1824  was 
2008,  of  which  1712  were  whalers,  and  more  than  three 
fourths  of  them  were  American.  The  business  reached 
its  culmination  about  1845,  when  the  local  government 
reported  that  497  whalers,  manned  by  14,905  sailors. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


105 


refreshed  in  the  ports  of  the  islands.  As  late  as  1863 
the  number  of  whaling  vessels  visiting  Honolulu  was 
102,  of  which  92  were  American.  But  during  the  year 
following  one  of  the  Confederate  cruisers  appeared  in 
the  North  Pacific,  and  the  industry  for  a time  disap- 
peared. The  fleet  fell  off  to  47  in  1871,  and  since 
that  date  has  steadily  declined,  owing  in  great  measure 
to  the  scarcity  of  whales.  But  for  more  than  thirty 
years  it  was  the  chief  dependence  of  the  islands  for 
their  prosperity;  the  vessels  disbursed  large  sums  for 
supplies  and  repairs ; and  the  inhabitants,  being  excel- 
lent seamen,  were  largely  employed  on  the  vessels.^ 

Notwithstanding  the  commercial  interests  caused  the 
American  influence  to  be  predominant  in  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  a new  element  was  added  which  increased  it 
and  still  more  affected  the  social  and  political  develop- 
ment. When  they  were  discovered  by  Captain  Cook  in 
1778,  the  different  islands  were  ruled  by  rival  chiefs  and 
were  almost  continuously  in  a state  of  warfare.  Captain 
Vancouver,  on  his  arrival  in  1792,  found  Kamehameha, 
king  of  the  island  of  Hawaii,  the  largest  of  the  group, 
intent  on  bringing  all  the  other  chiefs  into  subjection 
to  his  rule.  He  was  possessed  of  military  capacity  and 
of  many  of  the  higher  qualities  of  manhood,  and  Van- 
couver not  only  advised  the  rival  chiefs  to  accept  his 
sovereignty,  but  he  instructed  him  in  the  arts  of  war 

1 Hist.  American  Whale  Fisheries,  A.  Starbuck,  U.  S.  Fish  Commis- 
sion, 1875-6,  pt.  iv.  pp.  96,  225;  Residence  in  Sandwich  Islands,  H.  Bing- 
ham, New  York,  1847,  p.  609  ; Hist.  Hawaiian  Islands,  J.  J.  Jarves, 
Boston,  1843,  p.  231;  The  Hawaiian  Islands,  R.  Anderson,  Boston,  1865, 
p.  251  ; Alexander’s  Hawaii,  181,  297  ; W.  H.  Seward  in  U.  S.  Senate, 
July  29, 1852,  Cong.  Globe,  vol.  xxiv.  pt.  ii.  p.  1973,  32d  Cong.  1st  Sess. 


106  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

and  built  and  armed  for  him  a small  vessel,  which  proved 
an  important  addition  to  his  mihtary  establishment. 

Kamehameha  eventually  became  the  ruler  of  the 
whole  group,  and  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  Hawaiian 
nationality.  He  ended  his  career  in  1819,  and  his 
death  was  followed  by  strange  and  unexpected  events. 
The  natives  had  for  generations  been  practicing  a de- 
grading and  sanguinary  idolatry  and  a superstitious  and 
tyrannical  system  known  as  tahu.  The  advisers  of  the 
young  king  Liholiho  induced  him  to  put  an  end  to  both 
as  false  and  as  injurious  to  his  people. 

These  events  synchronized  with  the  dispatch  from 
Boston,  by  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  — 
an  organization  of  the  Congregational  churches  of  New 
England,  — of  a company  of  missionaries  to  propagate 
among  the  Hawaiians  the  doctrines  of  Christianity.  A 
zeal  for  foreign  missions  had  a few  years  before  been 
awakened  in  the  churches  of  that  denomination  espe- 
cially, and  the  attention  of  their  board  of  missions 
being  attracted  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands  by  the  intimate 
relations  of  the  New  England  merchants  and  vessels  with 
them,  this  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  convert  the 
natives  to  Christianity. 

The  first  missionaries  were  kindly  received,  and  hope- 
fully entered  upon  their  labors  under  favorable  condi- 
tions. Additional  missionaries  were  sent  out  from  the 
Boston  board,  and  soon  they  were  actively  at  work 
throughout  the  group.  Such  great  success  attended 
their  labors  that  within  a few  years  the  larger  part  of 
the  population  were  reported  as  adherents  of  Chris- 
tianity, including  the  king  and  the  court.  In  1843, 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


107 


John  Quincy  Adams,  then  chairman  of  the  Committee 
of  Foreign  Affairs  af  the  House,  made  a report  to  Con- 
gress in  which  he  spoke  of  this  achievement  as  follows : 
It  is  a subject  of  cheering  contemplation  to  the  friends 
of  human  improvement  and  virtue  that,  by  the  mild 
and  gentle  influence  of  Christian  charity,  dispensed  by 
humble  missionaries  of  the  gospel  unarmed  with  secular 
power  within  the  last  quarter  of  a century,  the  people 
of  this  group  of  islands  have  been  converted  from  the 
lowest  abasement  of  idolatry  to  the  blessings  of  the 
Christian  gospel;  united  under  one  balanced  govern- 
ment ; rallied  to  the  fold  of  civilization  by  a written 
language  and  constitution  providing  security  for  the 
rights  of  persons,  property,  and  mind,  and  invested  with 
all  the  elements  of  right  and  power  which  can  entitle 
them  to  be  acknowledged  by  their  brethren  of  the 
human  race  as  a separate  and  independent  commu- 
nity/’ ^ 

The  islands  were  visited  in  1860  by  the  well-known 
American,  Richard  H.  Dana,  who,  after  spending  some 
time  in  investigating  the  work  of  the  missionaries,  on 
his  return  to  the  United  States  pubHshed  an  article 
upon  the  subject.  From  his  high  standing  as  a lawyer, 
and  from  the  fact  that  he  was  not  a member  of  the  de- 
nomination which  wrought  this  great  transformation  in 
the  population,  his  statement  carries  great  weight.  The 
following  extract  is  taken  from  his  article : It  is  no 

small  thing  to  say  of  the  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board  that  in  less  than  forty  years  they  have  taught 
this  whole  people  to  read  and  to  write,  to  cipher  and  to 
1 H.  Report  No.  93,  27th  Cong.  3d  Sess. 


108  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

sew.  They  have  given  them  an  alphabet,  grammar, 
and  dictionary ; preserved  their  language  from  extinc- 
tion 5 given  it  a literature,  and  translated  into  it  the 
Bible  and  works  of  devotion,  science,  entertainment, 
etc.  They  have  established  schools,  reared  up  native 
teachers,  and  so  pressed  their  work  that  now  the  pro- 
portion of  inhabitants  who  can  read  and  write  is  greater 
than  in  New  England ; and  whereas  they  found  these 
islanders  a nation  of  half-naked  savages,  living  in  the 
surf  and  on  the  sand,  eating  raw  fish,  fighting  among 
themselves,  tyrannized  over  by  feudal  chiefs,  and  aban- 
doned to  sensuahty,  they  now  see  them  decently  clothed, 
recognizing  the  laws  of  marriage,  knowing  something 
of  accounts,  going  to  school  and  public  worship  with 
more  regularity  than  the  people  do  at  home  ; and  the 
more  elevated  of  them  taking  part  in  conducting  the 
affairs  of  the  constitutional  monarchy  under  which 
they  live,  holding  seats  on  the  judicial  bench  and  in 
the  legislative  chambers,  and  filling  posts  in  the  local 
magistracies.” 

The  result  of  this  work  of  the  missionaries  was  seen 
in  the  new  order  of  things  in  society  and  government. 
Kegulations  were  decreed  by  which  the  outward  exhibi- 
tion of  licentiousness  and  intemperance  was  sought  to 
he  restrained,  crime  and  disorder  punished,  and  the  civil 
rights  of  the  people  enforced  by  judicial  process.  The 
government,  which  had  before  been  a despotic  autocracy, 
assumed  a constitutional  form,  and  the  king  was  aided 
by  an  organized  body  of  advisers,  and  later  by  a legisla- 
tive assembly.  This  political  reorganization  was  almost 
entirely  the  work  of  the  missionaries.  They  were  not 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


109 


always  free  from  mistakes  in  government,  but  they 
always  studied  the  good  of  the  people  and  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  king.^ 

Much  diversity  of  sentiment  has  been  expressed  by 
writers  upon  the  effects  of  the  labors  of  the  Christian 
missionaries  in  the  Orient,  but  the  better  judgment 
of  candid  observers  is  in  favor  of  their  beneficial  in- 
fluence on  the  rulers  and  the  people,  even  aside  from 
the  religious  considerations  involved.  Their  useful 
service  in  connection  with  the  diplomatic  intercourse 
of  the  Western  nations  with  the  Far  East  has  been  es- 
pecially conspicuous.  Notice  has  already  been  taken  of 
the  valuable  participation  of  the  Catholic  missionaries, 
both  as  interpreters  and  advisers,  in  the  negotiation  of 
the  first  treaty  between  China  and  Kussia  in  1689.  It 
has  also  been  seen  that  in  other  missions  to  Peking  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century  the  Christian  fathers  were 
an  indispensable  part  of  all  of  them. 

When  the  British  government  was  making  arrange- 
ments to  send  the  Macartney  embassy  to  Peking  in 
1792,  search  was  made  for  a competent  person  to  act 
as  interpreter,  and  the  secretary  to  the  embassy  records 
that  in  all  the  British  dominions  not  one  person  could 
be  procured  properly  qualified,”  and  that  after  much 
inquiry  two  Christian  Chinese  students  were  found  in 
the  mission  college  at  Naples,  Italy,  who  were  engaged 
for  that  service. 

^ Anderson’s  Hawaii,  99.  For  account  of  work  of  missionaries,  see 
Anderson,  Bingham’s  Sandwich  Islands,  Jarves’s  History,  and  History  of 
the  Sandwich  Islands  by  S.  Dibble  (1843).  A letter  from  the  secretary 
of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  dated  May 
7,  1902,  estimates  the  total  expenditures  of  the  Board  in  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  at  $1,595,335. 


110  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

The  well-known  English  missionary  and  Chinese  in- 
terpreter, Dr.  Robert  Morrison,  was  the  chief  inter- 
preter of  the  Amherst  embassy  in  1816,  and  he  acted 
as  the  official  interpreter  and  trusted  adviser  of  the 
British  government  and  the  East  India  Company  at 
Canton  for  twenty-five  years.  During  the  Opium  War 
and  in  the  peace  negotiations.  Dr.  GutzlafP,  the  German 
missionary  and  historian,  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
British  government,  as  interpreter  and  adviser,  and  was 
most  useful  in  the  negotiations.^  He  was  also  of  ser- 
vice to  the  government  of  the  United  States  in  a similar 
capacity,  as  will  be  noticed  later. 

When  Mr.  Roberts  was  sent  by  the  American  gov- 
ernment to  negotiate  treaties  with  Siam  and  other 
oriental  countries,  he  first  went  to  Canton  and  there 
engaged  the  services  as  interpreter  of  Mr.  J.  R.  Mor- 
rison, the  son  of  Dr.  Morrison.  The  valuable  assist- 
ance of  Dr.  Peter  Parker,  a missionary  of  the  American 
Board  at  Canton,  has  already  been  noticed  in  connec- 
tion with  Mr.  Cushing’s  mission  in  1844.  In  a later 
chapter  his  further  service  to  the  government  will  be 
mentioned.  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  another  missionary 
of  the  American  Board,  it  will  be  seen,  was  associated 
with  Commodore  Perry  in  the  opening  of  Japan,  and 
there  will  be  frequent  occasion  to  refer  to  him  in  con- 
nection with  the  diplomatic  service  of  the  United  States 
in  the  East. 

These  instances  are  cited  to  show  what  an  important 
part  the  missionaries  have  borne  in  the  international 

1 Staunton’s  Embassy,  24  ; Davis’s  China  during  the  War,  etc.,  passim ; 
Williams’s  Hist.  China,  106,  184,  190,  204. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


111 


relations  of  the  Pacific.  The  instances  might  be  mul- 
tiplied, and  a detailed  examination  of  these  relations 
will  disclose  that  up  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century 
the  Christian  missionaries  were  an  absolute  necessity  to 
diplomatic  intercourse.  Their  influence  upon  the  peo- 
ple and  the  governments  of  China  and  Japan  will  be 
discussed  later.  In  Hawaii,  after  the  conversion  of  the 
islands  to  Christianity,  the  missionaries  were  an  ever- 
present factor  in  public  affairs,  and  eventually  their 
descendants  became  the  leading  advocates  of  annexa- 
tion to  the  United  States. 

Before  it  had  been  determined  by  treaty  what  were 
the  territorial  rights  of  the  United  States  in  Oregon, 
and  five  years  anterior  to  the  acquisition  of  California, 
the  President  announced  to  the  world  by  a message  to 
Congress  that  the  commercial  and  other  interests  of  the 
United  States  in  Hawaii  were  of  such  a predominating 
character  that  the  government  could  not  allow  those 
islands  to  pass  into  the.  possession  or  come  under  the 
control  of  any  other  nation.  Notwithstanding  the 
trade  relations  of  the  United  States  were  established 
almost  immediately  after  the  discovery  of  the  islands, 
that  fact  did  not  deter  other  powers  from  repeated 
efforts  to  secure  their  possession.  Their  commanding 
situation  in  the  Pacific  was  a constant  temptation  to 
the  greed  of  colonizing  nations. 

The  first  attempt  at  securing  possession  was  made  by 
the  British  naval  officer.  Captain  Vancouver,  on  his 
third  visit  in  1794,  who  proceeded,  as  he  states,  under 
a conviction  of  the  importance  of  those  islands  to  Great 
Britain.”  Before  taking  his  departure  he  caused  a 


112 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


council  of  the  chiefs  to  be  convened  by  the  king, 
Kamehameha,  and,  upon  the  promise  of  the  captain 
that  the  British  government  would  take  them  under  its 
protection  and  send  them  a war  vessel,  they  acknow- 
ledged themselves  to  be  subjects  of  Great  Britain.”  A 
copper  plate  was  prepared  with  an  inscription  reciting 
the  fact  that  the  king  and  chiefs  of  the  island  of  Ha- 
waii had  ceded  the  island  to  his  Britannic  Majesty ; ” 
this  tablet  was  placed  in  a conspicuous  position,  with 
much  ceremony,  the  firing  of  salutes,  and  distribution 
of  presents ; and  the  squadron  sailed  away  ^vithout  fur- 
ther act  of  occupation.  The  report  of  Vancouver’s  ac- 
tion reached  England  during  the  troubles  growing  out 
of  the  French  Revolution,  and  no  further  attention  was 
given  to  the  matter  or  steps  taken  to  confirm  the  cession. 

As  early  as  1809  the  Russians  had  visited  the  islands, 
and  a few  years  later  had  some  trade  relations  with 
them.  It  is  alleged  that  Baranoff,  the  able  governor 
of  Russian  America,  seeing  the  desirability  of  making 
the  islands  a part  of  the  Russian  possessions  on  the 
Pacific,  set  on  foot  an  expedition  for  that  purpose.  In 
the  year  1815  a vessel  dispatched  by  him  arrived  at 
Kauai,  and  its  commander,  after  some  conference  with 
the  authorities,  landed  on  the  island,  and  proceeded 
to  build  a stone  fort,  over  which  the  Russian  flag  was 
raised.  Tikhmeneff,  the  Russian  historian,  states  that 
an  agreement  was  made  with  the  king  of  Kauai  for 
commercial  privileges,  by  which  he  placed  his  island 
under  the  protection  of  the  emperor  of  Russia ; and 
that  when  the  agreement  reached  the  Czar  he  declined 
to  ratify  it.  But  however  that  may  be,  as  soon  as 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


113 


Kamehameha  heard  of  the  occupation  - he  ordered  the 
Russians  to  leave  the  island,  which  they  did  under  pro- 
test, and  the  fort  was  destroyed.  This  ended  all  at- 
tempts on  the  part  of  Russia  to  gain  a foothold  in  the 
group  ^ 

The  first  official  connection  which  the  government 
of  the  United  States  had  with  the  islands  was  through 
John  C.  Jones,  who  was  appointed  September  19, 1820, 
as  agent  of  the  United  States  for  commerce  and  sea- 
men.” Under  this  appointment  he  discharged  the 
usual  duties  of  a consul,  and  sustained  to  the  govern- 
ment and  local  authorities  the  relation  of  a political 
representative.  He  was  the  sole  foreign  official  until 
1825,  when  Richard  Charlton  arrived,  as  consul-general 
of  Great  Britain  for  the  Hawaiian  and  Society  Islands. 
Both  of  these  officials  remained  at  their  posts  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  neither  of  them  seems  to  have 
been  happy  in  their  relations  with  the  authorities,  and 
both  were  finally  removed  from  office  by  their  respec- 
tive governments.^ 

In  1825  the  government  of  the  United  States  directed 
the  commander  of  the  Pacific  squadron  to  have  one  of 
its  vessels  visit  the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  inquire  into  the 
state  of  trade  and  concert  with  the  government  of  the 
islands  a better  method  of  conducting  relations.  The 
task  was  intrusted  to  Captain  Thomas  ap  Catesby  Jones, 

^ 3 Vancouver’s  Voyage,  56  ; Greenhow’s  Oregon,  250 ; Hopkins’s 
Hawaii,  123  ; 4 Foreign  Relations  of  U.  S.  (folio  ed.)  855  ; Jarves’s  Hist. 
Sandwich  Islands,  201  ; Hawaiian  Hist.  Soc.,  Paper  No.  6. 

2 A.  H.  Allen’s  Report,  Foreign  Relations,  U.  S.  1894,  Appendix  ii. 
p.  8 ; Jarves’s  Hist.  251,  268  ; Hopkins’s  Hawaii,  274  ; 2 A Journey 
round  the  World,  Sir  George  Simpson,  London,  1847,  p.  95. 


114 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


commanding  the  Peacock,  and  the  mission  was  dis- 
charged with  much  credit  to  him  and  profit  to  the  two 
governments.  He  negotiated  and  signed,  December  23, 
1826,  the  first  formal  treaty  ever  entered  into  by  the 
island  government  with  any  foreign  power.  It  con- 
tained the  usual  stipulations  of  a commercial  treaty  of 
the  period,  and  it  is  especially  noticeable  that  it  recog- 
nized the  right  and  duty  of  the  courts  of  the  country 
to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  persons  and  property 
of  the  American  residents.  It  was  a high  testimonial  to 
the  progress  which  had  been  made  by  the  Hawaiians 
in  civilization  that  the  American  authorities  were  will- 
ing to  allow  the  native  judges,  who  had  so  recently 
emerged  from  barbarism,  to  pass  upon  the  rights  of 
their  citizens  resident  there.  When  the  American  gov- 
ernment negotiated  a treaty  with  China  twenty  years 
later,  and  with  Japan  thirty  years  later,  it  reserved  to  its 
own  consuls  jurisdiction  over  their  countrymen.  The 
treaty  with  the  Hawaiian  king  was  not  submitted  to  the 
Senate  and  ratified  in  the  usual  form,  but  it  continued 
to  be  observed  by  both  parties  to  it  until  superseded  by 
the  treaty  of  1849.^ 

Captain  Jones  found  other  duties  to  perform  during 
this  visit.  Notwithstanding  the  good  effects  of  the 
work  of  the  missionaries  on  the  natives  and  the  rulers, 
they  had  incurred  the  bitter  opposition  of  many  of  the 
foreign  element.  The  character  of  the  latter  was  not 
in  all  respects  commendable.  It  was  made  up  in  con- 
siderable numbers  of  deserters  from  vessels  touching  at 

1 Foreign  Relations,  1894,  App.  ii.  8,  35.  As  to  exterritoriality  in 
Hawaii,  7 Opinions  of  Attorneys-General,  29. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


115 


the  ports,  of  escaped  convicts  from  Botany  Bay,  and  of 
sailors  of  all  nationalities.  While  there  were  honor- 
able and  upright  merchants,  many  of  the  traders  were 
more  concerned  about  making  fortunes  than  conserving 
the  morals  of  the  people.  When  the  government  was 
reorganized  under  the  direction  of  the  missionaries,  it 
made  the  Mosaic  commandments  the  basis  of  legisla- 
tion, and  strict  laws  were  passed  for  the  observance  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  for  the  punishment  of  licentiousness 
and  intemperance.  This  strictness  interfered  not  only 
with  the  depraved  habits  of  the  vicious,  but  with  the 
profits  of  many  traders.  The  port  of  Honolulu  was 
divided  into  two  parties  — missionary  and  anti-mission- 
ary — and  charges  and  counter-charges  had  been  made. 
The  anti-missionary  party,  headed  by  the  British  con- 
sul-general, proposed  to  submit  the  charges  to  the  arbi- 
tration of  Captain  Jones,  and  the  proposition  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  missionaries.  The  result  was  a complete 
vindication  of  the  latter.  Captain  Jones  concludes  a 
report  of  this  trial  or  investigation  in  these  words  : 

Not  one  jot  or  tittle,  not  one  iota  derogatory  to  their 
character  as  men,  as  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  the 
strictest  order,  or  as  missionaries,  could  be  made  to  ap- 
pear by  the  united  efforts  of  all  who  conspired  against 
them.”  ^ 

Commanders  of  naval  vessels  of  the  United  States 
were  often  called  upon  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, in  the  far-off  ports  of  semi-civilized  and  barbarous 
countries,  to  act  as  peacemakers  in  the  settlement  of 
differences  between  their  countrymen  and  the  natives, 
^ Jarves’s  Hist.  266  ; Bingham’s  Sandwich  Islands,  301. 


116 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


and  in  almost  all  cases  their  action  was  on  the  side  of 
justice  and  morahty.  When  the  exception  occurred  it 
was  the  more  noticeable.  The  controversy  which  was 
arbitrated  by  Captain  Jones  grew,  in  part,  out  of  the 
visit  of  another  naval  vessel  of  the  United  States,  the 
Dolphin,  which  anchored  in  Honolulu  on  the  January 
previous  to  the  arrival  of  Captain  Jones.  Its  crew  soon 
created  trouble  because  of  the  regulations  against  pros- 
titution. The  Hawaiians,  before  their  conversion  to 
Christianity,  possessed  very  loose  ideas  as  to  chastity,  and 
upon  the  arrival  of  foreign  vessels  it  had  been  the  cus- 
tom of  the  native  females  to  go  on  board  in  large  num- 
bers. When  the  new  order  of  government  was  brought 
about,  under  the  influence  of  the  missionaries,  strict 
rules  were  enforced  putting  a stop  to  this  immoral  prac- 
tice. It  had  met  with  the  bitter  opposition  of  the  crews 
of  foreign  vessels,  but  up  to  the  arrival  of  the  Dolphin 
the  new  regulations  were  being  successfully  enforced. 
When  its  crew  set  itself  in  opposition  to  the  law,  the 
commander  of  the  Dolphin  took  up  the  controversy  for 
his  men,  and  denounced  the  law  as  unnecessary,  and 
one  which  they  need  not  observe.  The  result  was  that 
for  a time  the  law  was  not  enforced,  and  this  action  of 
an  armed  vessel  of  the  American  navy  had  an  evil  effect 
temporarily  on  the  influence  of  the  missionaries. 

The  arrival  a few  months  after  this  disgraceful  oc- 
currence of  an  honorable  and  virtuous  representative 
of  the  United  States  navy  and  his  vindication  of  the 
missionaries  did  much  to  undo  the  bad  example  of  the 
crew  of  the  Dolphin.  Upon  the  return  of  this  vessel 
to  the  United  States  a court  of  inquiry  was  ordered,  and 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


117 


its  conclusion  was  that  a court-martial  for  the  trial  of 
the  commanding  officer  was  not  necessary.  An  exam- 
ination of  the  record  of  the  court  shows  that  its  action 
was  based  upon  purely  technical  grounds,  and  that  the 
officer’s  conduct  was  in  the  highest  degree  reprehen- 
sible.^ 

Three  years  after  the  events  just  related  the  coming 
of  another  war  vessel  of  the  United  States  had  a very 
salutary  efPect.  In  1829  the  United  States  naval  vessel 
Vincennes,  Captain  Finch,  arrived,  bearing  a letter  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  communicating  the  views 
and  good  wishes  of  the  President.  The  delivery  of  the 
letter  and  the  presents  accompanying  it  was  made  an 
occasion  of  much  ceremony  and  congratulation.  The 
letter  was  read  in  translation  to  King  Kamehameha 
III.,  in  the  presence  of  the  chiefs  and  leading  people, 
the  spirit  of  which  may  be  seen  from  the  following  ex- 
tract : He  [the  President]  has  heard  with  interest  and 

admiration  of  the  rapid  progress  which  has  been  made 
by  your  people  in  acquiring  a knowledge  of  letters  and 
the  true  religion  — the  religion  of  the  Christian’s  Bible. 
These  are  the  best,  and  the  only  means,  by  which  the 
prosperity  and  happiness  of  nations  can  be  advanced 
and  continued,  and  the  President,  and  all  men  every- 
where who  wish  well  to  yourselves  and  your  people, 
earnestly  hope  that  you  will  continue  to  cultivate  them, 
and  to  protect  and  encourage  those  by  whom  they  are 
brought  to  you.” 

It  had  been  a much  disputed  question  in  the  islands 

^ Hopkins,  210  ; Jarves,  263  ; Bingham,  283  ; Report  of  Court  of  In- 
quiry, Naval  Archiives. 


118 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


whether  foreigners  were  bound  by  the  local  laws,  and 
it  was  a great  gratification  to  the  king  and  his  sup- 
porters to  have  the  President  say,  Our  citizens  who 
violate  your  laws,  or  interfere  with  your  regulations, 
violate  at  the  same  time  their  duty  to  their  own  gov- 
ernment and  country,  and  merit  censure  and  punish- 
ment ; and  to  listen  to  his  appeal  that  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  resident  in  the  islands  should  receive 
the  protection  of  the  government  and  have  their  inter- 
ests promoted  by  it.  The  king  in  his  letter  of  reply 
said : Best  affection  to  you,  the  Chief  Magistrate  of 

America.  . . . I know  the  excellence  of  your  commu- 
nicating to  me  that  which  is  right  and  true.  I approve 
with  admiration  the  justness  and  faultlessness  of  your 
word.  . . . Look  on  us  with  charity  ; we  have  formerly 
been  extremely  dark-minded,  and  ignorant  of  the  usages 
of  enlightened  countries.  You  are  the  source  of  intel- 
ligence and  light.  This  is  the  origin  of  our  minds 
beinof  a little  enlio^htened  — the  arrival  here  of  the 
Word  of  God.  This  is  the  foundation  of  a little  men- 
tal improvement  which  we  have  recently  made,  and  that 
we  come  to  know  a little  of  what  is  right,  and  the  cus- 
toms of  civilized  nations.  On  this  account  we  do 
greatly  rejoice  at  the  present  time.”  The  ceremony  of 
the  delivery  of  the  letter  and  presents  was  followed  by 
a round  of  civilities,  in  which  the  officers  of  the  Vin- 
cennes were  entertained  at  the  houses  of  the  leading 
natives,  and  the  American  visitors  were  greatly  im- 
pressed with  the  sincerity  of  their  Christian  profession 
and  their  advance  in  civilized  life  and  deportment.^ 

1 For.  Rel.  U.  S.  1894,  App.  ii.  8,  39  ; Bingham,  353  ; Jarves,  287,  379. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


119 


The  third  demonstration  of  a foreign  power  against 
the  sovereignty  of  Hawaii  was  on  the  part  of  France  in 
1839.  For  several  years  previous  the  islands  had  been 
greatly  disturbed  by  the  efforts  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
clergy  to  gain  a foothold  and  disseminate  their  tenets. 
The  king  from  the  beginning  had  resisted  the  move- 
ment^ claiming  that  the  ceremonies  of  that  religion  were 
so  similar  to  the  idolatry  which  the  people  had  recently 
abandoned  that  it  was  not  wise  to  allow  it ; besides,  he 
held  that  it  would  bring  a disturbing  element  into  the 
population  which  should  be  avoided.  The  Protestant 
missionaries  were  charged  with  having  influenced  the 
action  of  the  king,  but  this  they  denied,  and  while  they 
said  they  believed  in  religious  toleration,  they  pointed 
to  the  fact  that  at  that  time  freedom  of  worship  was 
not  allowed  in  most  of  the  Catholic  countries  of  Eu- 
rope. The  British  consul,  jealous  of  the  influence’ 
of  the  American  missionaries,  warmly  supported  the 
Catholic  movement,  one  of  the  priests,  an  Irishman, 
being  a British  subject.  The  Jesuit  fathers  who  were 
seeking  the  right  of  residence,  appealed  to  France  as 
their  protector,  and  the  islands  were  visited  at  differ- 
ent times  by  French  war  vessels,  with  a view  to  adjust- 
ing the  question  with  the  government,  but  the  latter 
remained  firm  in  its  resolution.  Various  priests  were 
expelled,  and  the  native  adherents  were  arrested  and 
imprisoned. 

On  July  10,  1839,  the  French  sixty-gun  frigate 
UArtemise  arrived  in  Honolulu,  and  the  commander 
immediately  sent  to  the  Hawaiian  government  a written 
demand  in  the  name  of  ‘‘  His  Majesty  the  King  of  the 


120  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

French/’  in  which  he  required  that  it  should  be  stipu- 
lated that  the  Catholic  worship  be  declared  free,  that  a 
site  for  a CathoHc  church  be  given  by  the  government, 
and  that  it  deposit  with  the  commander  $20,000  as 
a guarantee  for  the  execution  of  the  stipulation.  To 
these  conditions  he  added  later  that  the  law  which  had 
been  enacted  to  keep  out  liquors  be  so  modified  as  to 
allow  of  the  introduction  of  French  liquors  at  a duty  of 
five  per  cent.,  which  was  a virtual  abolition  of  all  tem- 
perance laws.  The  demand  of  the  Artemise  included 
a notice  that  if  the  government  did  not  sign  a treaty 
covering  these  stipulations,  ^^war  will  immediately  com- 
mence, and  all  the  devastation,  all  the  calamities  which 
may  be  the  unhappy  but  necessary  results.” 

Notice  was  also  served  upon  the  British  and  Amer- 
ican consuls  that  unless  the  demands  were  complied 
with  by  the  13th,  he  would  open  fire  upon  the  town, 
and  offering  refuge  and  protection  on  his  vessel  to  their 
countrymen.  But  to  the  latter  consul  he  added  that  the 
American  Protestant  clergy  would  be  treated  as  a part 
of  the  native  population  when  hostilities  should  begin. 
The  king  was  absent  at  one  of  the  distant  islands,  and 
the  French  commander,  refusing  to  await  his  return, 
forced  the  prime  minister  and  the  governor  of  Oahu 
to  sign  the  treaty.  To  make  the  humiliation  of  the 
Hawaiians  more  complete,  the  commander  brought  his 
crew  on  shore  in  mihtary  array  with  fixed  bayonets, 
and  caused  a mass  to  be  celebrated  in  one  of  the  king’s 
summer  houses.  However  much  the  king  and  his  advis- 
ers may  have  been  in  error,  the  conduct  of  the  French 
government  was  entirely  unjustifiable  and  would  only 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


121 


have  been  resorted  to  against  a weak  and  defenseless 
state.^ 

A short  time  before  the  Artemise  affair,  the  British 
war  vessel  Acteon,  Lord  Russell  commanding,  had  ne- 
gotiated a treaty  ” under  the  guns  of  his  ship.  These 
and  other  events  made  it  apparent  to  the  advisers  of 
the  king  that,  unless  the  independence  of  the  islands 
could  be  secured  by  the  recognition  of  some  of  the 
leading  maritime  nations,  they  would  continue  to  be 
subjected  to  such  humiliation  and  that  their  independent 
existence  might  be  terminated.  Sir  George  Simpson, 
the  governor  of  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Company,  a man  of 
large  experience  in  dealing  with  native  races,  being  in 
the  islands,  joined  in  advising  that  a formal  appeal  to 
this  end  be  made  to  the  United  States,  Great  Britain, 
and  France.  Accordingly  Sir  George  Simpson,  Mr. 
Richards,  the  missionary  adviser  of  the  king,  and  Haa- 
lilio,  a native  chief,  were  appointed  a commission  to 
visit  the  countries  named,  and  ask  for  national  recogni- 
tion. Sir  George  Simpson  went  direct  to  England,  and 
the  two  last  named  first  visited  the  United  States,  in- 
tending to  join  Simpson  in  London.^  On  their  arrival 
in  Washington  in  December,  1842,  they  addressed  a 
note  to  Mr.  Webster,  setting  forth  the  reasons  why  the 
independence  of  the  islands  should  be  formally  acknow- 
ledged. They  referred  to  the  agreement  entered  into 
with  the  United  States  through  Captain  Jones  in  1826, 
which,  though  never  ratified  by  the  United  States,  had 

1 For.  Rel.  1894,  App.  ii.  9, 36  ; Jarves,  320  ; Hopkins,  245  ; Bingham, 
536. 

2 Sir  G.  Simpson’s  Journey,  171  ; Bingham,  586. 


122  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

been  faithfully  observed  by  Hawaii ; they  described  in 
some  detail  the  extent  of  the  American  trade ; and  an- 
nounced their  readiness  to  enter  into  treaty  negotia- 
tions, for  which  they  possessed  full  powers. 

Mr.  Webster  promptly  replied  to  their  note,  making 
just  acknowledgment  for  the  protection  extended  to  the 
trade  of  the  United  States  and  the  hospitality  to  its 
citizens ; and  proceeded  to  state  the  views  of  the  Presi- 
dent, in  terms  highly  gratifying  to  the  commission. 
This  was  followed  the  same  month  by  a special  message 
of  the  President  to  Congress,  carefully  drafted  by  Sec- 
retary W ebster. 

Its  importance  to  the  islands  and  the  future  interests 
of  the  United  States  justifies  the  following  extract : — 

Just  emerging  from  a state  of  barbarism,  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Sandwich  Islands  is  as  yet  feeble ; but  its 
dispositions  appear  to  be  just  and  pacific,  and  it  seems 
anxious  to  improve  the  condition  of  its  people,  by  the 
introduction  of  knowledge,  of  religious  and  moral  insti- 
tutions, means  of  education,  and  the  arts  of  civilized 
life. 

It  cannot  but  be  in  conformity  with  the  interest 
and  wishes  of  the  government  and  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  that  this  community,  thus  existing  in  the 
midst  of  a vast  expanse  of  ocean,  should  be  respected, 
and  all  its  rights  strictly  and  conscientiously  regarded. 
And  this  must  also  be  the  true  interest  of  all  other 
commercial  states.  Far  remote  from  the  dominions  of 
European  powers,  its  growth  and  prosperity  as  an  inde- 
pendent state  may  yet  be  in  a high  degree  useful  to  all 
whose  trade  is  extended  to  those  regions  ; while  its 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


123 


nearer  approach  to  this  continent,  and  the  intercourse 
which  American  vessels  have  with  it,  — such  vessels  con- 
stituting-five  sixths  of  all  which  annually  visit  it, — 
could  not  but  create  dissatisfaction  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  at  any  attempt,  by  another  power,  should 
such  attempt  be  threatened  or  feared,  to  take  possession 
of  the  islands  and  colonize  them,  and  subvert  the  native 
government.  Considering,  therefore,  that  the  United 
States  possesses  so  very  large  a share  of  the  intercourse 
with  those  islands,  it  is  indeed  not  unfit  to  make  the 
declaration  that  their  government  seeks  nevertheless  no 
peculiar  advantages,  no  exclusive  control  over  the  Ha- 
waiian government,  but  is  content  with  its  independent 
existence,  and  anxiously  wishes  for  its  security  and  pros- 
perity. Its  forbearance  in  this  respect,  under  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  very  large  intercourse  of  its  citizens 
with  the  islands,  would  justify  this  government,  should 
events  hereafter  arise  to  require  it,  in  making  a decided 
remonstrance  against  the  adoption  of  an  opposite  policy 
by  any  other  power.”  ^ 

This  positive  declaration  of  the  interest  and  purpose 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  had  the  desired 
effect  in  Europe.  Mr.  Richards  and  Haalilio  met  Sir 
George  Simpson  in  London,  and  without  much  difficulty 
brought  the  British  government  to  an  agreement  to 
recognize  the  independence  of  Hawaii.  More  difficulty 
was  encountered  at  Paris,  but  after  due  explanations  as 
to  the  policy  of  the  island  government  respecting  the 
Catholic  religion,  the  French  government  consented  to 

1 H.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  35,  27th  Cong.  3d  Sess. ; also  For.  Rel.  1894,  App. 
ii.  39. 


124 


A]\IERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  recognition.  England  and  France  united  in  a de- 
claration that  they  engage,  reciprocally,  to  consider 
the  Sandwich  Islands  as  an  independent  state,  and  never 
to  take  possession,  either  directly  or  under  the  title  of 
protectorate,  or  under  any  other  form,  of  any  part  of 
the  territory  of  which  they  are  composed.”  The  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  was  invited  to  join  in 
this  declaration  but  declined  under  its  general  pohcy  of 
avoiding  complications  with  European  powers.^ 

While  these  negotiations  were  having  such  a satis- 
factory  conclusion,  the  fourth  attempt  at  the  overthrow 
of  the  island  government  was  being  made  at  Honolulu. 
The  British  consul,  Mr.  Charlton,  who  had  been  in  con- 
troversy over  certain  claims  which  he  was  urging  upon 
the  government,  left  Honolulu  without  notice  and  laid 
his  grievances  before  the  commander  of  the  nearest  Brit- 
ish vessel.  Her  Majesty’s  ship  Carysfort,  Lord  George 
Paiilet  commanding,  made  her  appearance  in  the  har- 
bor of  Honolidu  in  February,  1843.  Finding  the  king 
absent.  Lord  Paulet  informed  the  governor  of  Oahu 
that  he  had  come  to  ask  reparation  for  certain  insults 
offered  to  her  Majesty’s  representatives  and  for  injuries 
to  her  subjects,  and  requested  that  the  king  be  immedi- 
ately notified  to  return.  On  his  arrival  an  unsatisfac- 
tory correspondence  ensued,  which  ended  in  a written 
demand  being  made  upon  the  king  for  his  immediate 
compliance  with  a series  of  stipulations,  unjust  in  their 
nature  and  entmely  subversive  of  his  authority. 

In  view  of  the  threatening  attitude  of  the  British 
commander  and  of  the  inability  of  the  king  to  accede 
1 Bingham,  606  ; For.  Rel.  1894,  App.  ii.  64,  105. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


125 


to  the  stipulations,  the  latter,  upon  advice  of  his  coun- 
cil, determined  to  cede  temporarily  the  possession  of  the 
islands  to  the  British  commander,  and  appeal  to  the 
queen  of  Great  Britain  for  the  restoration  of  his  rights. 
Thereupon  Lord  Paulet  accepted  the  cession,  took 
charge  of  the  government  under  a commission  nomi- 
nated by  himself,  pulled  down  the  Hawaiian  flag  and 
raised  the  British  standard  in  its  place  over  the  forts 
and  public  buildings,  and  organized  a native  regiment, 
called  the  Queen’s  Own,”  officered  by  British  subjects 
and  paid  out  of  the  Hawaiian  treasury,  but  required  to 
take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  queen. 

The  king  sent  letters  to  the  queen  of  Great  Britain 
and  the  President  of  the  United  States,  appealing  to 
them  to  restore  him  to  his  throne,  and  issued  the  fol- 
lowing pathetic  proclamation  : Where  are  you,  chiefs, 

people,  and  commons  from  my  ancestor,  and  people 
from  foreign  lands  ? Hear  ye  ! I make  known  to  you 
that  I am  in  perplexity  by  reason  of  difficulties  into 
which  I have  been  brought  without  cause ; therefore  I 
have  given  away  the  life  of  our  land,  hear  ye  ! But 
my  rule  over  you,  my  people,  and  your  privileges  will 
continue,  for  I have  hope  that  the  life  of  the  land  will 
be  restored  when  my  conduct  shall  be  justified.” 

The  British  occupation  took  place  February  25, 
1843,  and  early  in  July,  Commodore  Kearny,  in  com- 
mand of  the  United  States  ship  Constellation,  anchored 
at  Honolulu,  en  route  to  the  United  States  from  Can- 
ton, China,  where  he  had  rendered  valuable  service  to  his 
country.  As  soon  as  he  had  informed  himself  of  the 
situation,  he  sent  a vigorous  protest  to  the  authorities 


126 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


against  the  cession,  and  every  act  and  measure  con- 
nected with  it,  and  held  them  responsible  for  all  inju- 
ries that  might  result  therefrom  to  American  citizens  or 
their  interests.  Meanwhile  the  commander  of  the  Brit- 
ish naval  forces  in  the  Pacific,  Admiral  Thomas,  having 
received  intelHgence  of  Paulet’s  action,  reached  the 
islands  on  July  26,  and  immediately  upon  becoming 
possessed  of  the  facts,  disavowed  the  act,  and  proceeded 
to  make  restoration.  In  order  that  the  disavowal  should 
be  as  public  as  possible,  he  arranged  for  a large  mili- 
tary display,  took  the  king  with  him  in  a carriage  to 
the  public  square,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  people 
restored  him  to  power,  supplanted  the  British  with  the 
Hawaiian  flag,  and  caused  it  to  be  saluted  by  all  the 
forts  and  vessels  in  the  harbor. 

For  this  act  of  justice  so  cordially  rendered.  Admiral 
Thomas  has  been  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Hawaiian 
people.  As  soon  as  the  intelligence  reached  the  British 
government,  the  act  of  annexation  was  publicly  disa- 
vowed, and  the  British  minister  in  Washington  made 
the  fact  known  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  the  most 
emphatic  terms.  On  the  return  of  the  Hawaiian  com- 
missioners from  Europe  to  the  United  States,  on  their 
way  to  the  islands,  they  found  that  Congress  had  au- 
thorized the  appointment  of  a diplomatic  agent,  that  he 
had  already  repaired  to  his  post,  and  had  been  received 
by  Kamehameha  III.  Thus  did  it  seem  as  if  the  Ha- 
waiian government  was  at  last  established  upon  a stable 
basis,  with  the  recognition  and  support  of  the  great 
maritime  powers  of  the  world.^ 

1 For.  Rel.  1894,  App.  ii.  9,  45-60  ; Bingham,  592  ; Hopkins,  chaps, 
xviii.  and  xix. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


127 


But  there  were  trials  yet  in  store  for  the  young  and 
feeble  member  of  the  family  of  nations.  The  treaty 
which  the  French  naval  commander  had  forced  upon 
the  king  in  1839,  at  the  cannon’s  mouth,  contained  two 
objectionable  clauses  — the  first,  that  no  Frenchman 
should  be  tried  on  a criminal  charge  except  by  a jury 
of  foreigners  proposed  by  the  French  consul ; and  the 
second,  that  all  French  goods  should  be  admitted  at  a 
duty  of  not  more  than  5 per  cent.  The  British  gov- 
ernment having  made  demand  in  1844  for  Hke  terms, 
the  Hawaiian  king  was  forced  to  grant  them.  It  was 
most  unfortunate  that  these  two  treaties,  obtained  by 
constraint,  should  be  made  the  occasion  of  a serious 
disagreement  with  the  diplomatic  representative  of  the 
United  States,  whose  coming  had  been  hailed  with  so 
much  satisfaction.  A case  of  rape  on  the  part  of  an 
American  citizen  arose,  and  Mr.  Brown,  the  United 
States  commissioner  (diplomatic  representative),  inter- 
vened, and,  under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  with  France 
and  Great  Britain,  claimed  the  right  to  demand  a 
trial  by  a foreign  jury,  but  the  Hawaiian  authorities 
proceeded  without  granting  his  demand.  They  were 
clearly  in  the  wrong,  and  although  justifying  them- 
selves on  technical  grounds,  their  action  was  undoubt- 
edly provoked  by  Mr.  Brown’s  domineering  and  insult- 
ing conduct.  He  was  sustained  by  the  Secretary  of 
State,  but  at  the  request  of  the  Hawaiian  government 
he  was  recalled  and  a new  commissioner  appointed.^ 

This  incident  directed  attention  to  the  unsatisfac- 
tory state  of  the  treaty  relations  with  foreign  powers. 
While  both  England  and  France  had  recognized  the 
1 For.  Rel.  1894,  App.  ii.  11,  38,  65,  66. 


128 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


independence  of  the  government,  their  treaties  placed 
it  in  a dependent  or  restrained  position  relative  to  judi- 
cial procedure,  the  tariff,  and  the  temperance  laws.  No 
treaty  had  been  made  with  the  United  States  since  the 
unratified  agreement  of  1826,  which  was  still  recognized 
as  binding  by  the  island  government,  but  it  was  very 
imperfect  in  its  provisions.  The  Secretary  of  State, 
therefore,  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  making  a 
treaty  which  would  in  all  respects  place  Hawaii  on  an 
equal  footing  with  all  other  Christian  powers.  Author- 
ity was  conferred  upon  the  new  commissioner  of  the 
United  States,  Mr.  Ten  Eyck,  to  negotiate,  and  a 
lengthy  correspondence  ensued  with  the  Hawaiian  for- 
eign office,  but  as  the  American  plenipotentiary  insisted 
upon  clauses  similar  to  the  objectionable  ones  in  the 
British  and  French  treaties,  no  agreement  was  reached. 
Meanwhile  Mr.  Ten  Eyck,  having  become  unaccepta- 
ble to  both  his  own  government  and  that  of  Hawaii, 
was  recalled,  and  the  negotiations  transferred  to  Wash- 
ington, where  a treaty  was  signed  December  20,  1849, 
between  Secretary  Clayton  and  John  J.  Jarves,  special 
commissioner  of  Hawaii.  This  treaty  was  free  from  the 
objectionable  clauses  referred  to,  and  was  similar  in  its 
provisions  to  those  negotiated  by  the  United  States  with 
other  Christian  nations.  It  remained  in  force  during  all 
the  subsequent  existence  of  the  Hawaiian  government, 
and  its  terms  were  ultimately  accepted  by  Great  Britain 
and  France.  Thus  for  a second  time  was  the  United 
States  successful  in  its  support  of  the  claims  of  this 
new  nation  to  complete  autonomy.^ 

1 For.  Rel.  1894,  App.  ii.  12,  13,  69,  79. 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


129 


While  the  negotiations  were  progressing  at  Wash- 
ington, fresh  troubles  with  France  had  arisen  at  the 
islands.  A new  consul  had  arrived  in  1848,  and  he 
soon  became  involved  in  quarrels  with  the  native  offi- 
cials. Having  communicated  his  grievances  to  his 
home  government,  on  August  12,  1849,  two  French 
men-o£-war  arrived  at  Honolulu,  under  command  of 
Admiral  De  Tromelin,  to  support  the  demands  of  the 
consul.  On  the  22d  the  admiral  sent  to  the  king  a 
peremptory  demand  embracing  ten  demands,  the  most 
important  of  which  was  that  the  duties  on  French 
brandy,  which  it  was  alleged  were  prohibitory,  should 
be  reduced  one  half,  and  that  the  French  language 
should  be  used  in  official  intercourse ; the  others  being 
of  a petty  character.  The  demand  was  accompanied 
by  a notice  that  a reply  was  expected  within  three 
days,  and  if  it  was  not  satisfactory,  the  admiral  would 
employ  the  force  at  his  disposal  to  obtain  a complete 
reparation.” 

The  answer  did  not  prove  satisfactory,  and  on  the 
25th  of  August  an  armed  force  was  landed  from  the 
war  vessels,  with  field-pieces,  scaling-ladders,  etc.  Pos- 
session was  taken  of  the  forts  and  government  build- 
ing, and  of  all  Hawaiian  vessels.  The  forts  were  dis- 
mantled, the  guns  spiked,  the  ammunition  thrown  into 
the  sea,  and  the  king’s  yacht  confiscated.  These  re- 
prisals ” having  been  taken,  the  troops  were  withdrawn 
on  the  28th,  the  consul  and  his  family  went  on  board, 
and  the  French  squadron  sailed  away. 

This  outrage  led  to  the  dispatch  of  a special  commis- 
sioner to  France,  Dr.  Judd,  accompanied  by  two  native 


130 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


princes,  the  heir  apparent  and  his  brother.  The  com- 
mission spent  ten  weeks  in  Paris  seeking  to  negotiate 
a treaty,  but  without  success.  In  London  the  basis  of 
a new  and  equitable  treaty  was  agreed  upon  with  Great 
Britain,  similar  to  the  one  signed  with  the  United 
States.  Returning  by  way  of  Washington,  they  soh- 
cited  the  United  States  to  join  with  England  and  France 
in  a tripartite  convention  respecting  Hawaii,  which  was 
again  declined ; but  the  government  agreed  to  use  its 
good  offices  with  France  for  a settlement  of  existing 
difficulties.  Its  attempts  in  that  direction  led  to  ani- 
mated conferences  between  the  American  minister  in 
Paris  and  the  minister  for  foreign  affairs,  in  which 
the  French  government  was  given  to  understand  that 
the  United  States,  owing  to  its  paramount  interest  in 
those  islands,  would  allow  no  forcible  occupation  of 
them  by  any  foreign  power. 

The  French  government,  being  still  apparently  bent 
upon  forcing  its  demands,  sent  out  a special  commis- 
sioner, Mr.  Perrin,  who  arrived  at  Honolulu  in  a war 
vessel  in  December,  1850.  He  presented  anew  the 
former  demand  with  its  ten  articles,  and  entered  upon 
a voluminous  and  irritating  correspondence  which  con- 
tinued through  three  months.  The  king,  perplexed  by 
these  persistent  demands  and  threats  of  violence,  with 
the  advice  of  his  privy  council,  signed  a proclamation 
in  due  form,  in  which  he  declared  that,  ‘‘  despairing  of 
equity  and  justice  from  France,  we  hereby  proclaim  as 
our  royal  will  and  pleasure  that  all  our  islands,  and  all 
our  rights  as  sovereign  over  them,  are  from  the  date 
hereof  placed  under  the  protection  and  safeguard  of 


INDEPENDENT  HAWAII 


131 


the  United  States  of  America/’  until  a satisfactory 
adjustment  could  be  made  with  France,  or,  if  such 
arrangements  be  found  impracticable,  then  it  is  our 
wish  and  pleasure  that  the  protection  aforesaid  under 
the  United  States  of  America  be  perpetual.”  This 
proclamation  was  signed  March  10,  1851,  and  was 
delivered  sealed  to  the  American  commissioner,  on  con- 
dition that  if  hostilities  were  begun  by  the  French  it 
was  to  be  opened  and  carried  into  effect ; but  other- 
wise to  be  held  to  be  void. 

This  provisional  cession  and  the  troubles  which 
brought  it  about  were  reported  to  the  Department  of 
State  by  the  commissioner,  Mr.  Severance,  and  Secre- 
tary Webster  informed  him,  in  reply,  that  while  it  was 
the  purpose  of  the  United  States  to  observe  scrupu- 
lously the  independence  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  it 
could  never  consent  to  see  them  taken  possession  of  by 
either  of  the  great  commercial  powers  of  Europe,  nor 
could  it  consent  that  demands,  manifestly  unjust  and 
derogatory  and  inconsistent  with  a hona  fide  inde- 
pendence, should  be  enforced  against  that  government. 
Eespecting  the  cession  of  the  sovereignty  to  the  United 
States,  he  reminded  the  commissioner  that  it  was  a sub- 
ject above  any  functions  with  which  he  was  charged, 
that  he  should  forbear  to  express  an  opinion  upon  it, 
as  the  government  at  Washington  alone  could  decide 
it,  and  that  he  must  return  to  the  Hawaiian  govern- 
ment the  document  placed  in  his  hands. 

The  French  controversy  happily  did  not  reach  the 
acute  form  of  hostilities,  and  was  finally  adjusted  by  an 
agreement  assuring  the  Catholic  clergy  of  full  liberty 


132  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

of  worship  and  the  regulation  of  their  schools  (one  of 
the  points  embraced  in  the  ten  demands),  and  securing 
the  desired  reduction  in  the  duty  on  French  spirits.  It 
is  due  also  to  France  to  state  that  after  the  treaty  of 
1846  had  been  signed,  the  |20,000  which  had  been 
exacted  as  a guaranty  in  1839  were  returned,  and 
delivered  at  Honolulu  in  the  original  cases  and  with 
the  seals  unbroken.^ 

The  appearance  of  the  French  man-of-war  in  1850, 
with  the  belligerent  consul,  was  the  last  attempt  of 
foreign  aggression  threatening  the  sovereignty  of  the 
islands.  Twice  had  the  British  raised  their  flag,  once 
the  Kussian,  and  twice  the  French,  but  the  little  king- 
dom had  outHved  the  designs  of  these  powerful  states. 
It  seemed  now  left,  with  the  good-will  of  all  the 
nations,  to  work  out  its  own  career.  It  provided  itself 
with  a new  constitution  in  1852,  in  which  greater 
representation  and  power  were  given  to  the  people. 
Religious  liberty  was  guaranteed.  Society  and  the 
industries  were  feeling  more  and  more  the  influence  of 
commerce  and  contact  with  the  outside  world.  The 
government  had  the  trials  incident  to  all  countries  and 
some  peculiarly  of  native  origin.  We  shall  see  in  a 
subsequent  chapter  how  those  elements  worked  together 
for  its  ultimate  destiny. 

1 For.  Rel.  1894,  App.  ii.  13,  70-78,  86-104  ; Alexander’s  Hist.  261, 
264,  270. 


V 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 

The  march  of  events  in  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  made  it  clear  that  Japan  could  not  long 
continue  the  policy  of  seclusion  which  it  had  success- 
fully maintained  for  two  centuries.  That  policy  had, 
however,  served  a useful  purpose  both  for  Japan  and 
China.  We  have  seen  that  it  had  been  adopted  be- 
cause of  the  arrogant  and  aggressive  conduct  of  the 
European  nations  in  their  early  intercourse.  Following 
the  maritime  discoveries  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the 
commercial  nations  had  shown  an  utter  disregard  of 
the  proprietary  rights  of  the  people  of  the  East.  Great 
Britain,  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Holland,  and  Russia 
had  at  their  pleasure  appropriated  large  areas  of  terri- 
tory both  on  the  continent  of  Asia  and  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific. 

The  remoteness  of  China  and  Japan  from  Europe 
made  them  the  last  prey  of  the  spoilers.  The  obser- 
vant traveler  and  savant  Humboldt,  in  visiting  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama  a hundred  years  ago,  impressed 
with  its  geographic  influence,  wrote : This  neck  of 

land,  the  barrier  against  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  has  been  for  many  ages  the  bulwark  of  the 
independence  of  China  and  Japan.”  ^ But  in  addition 

^ Humboldt’s  Political  Essays  on  the  Eiingdom  of  New  Spain,  book  I 
chap.  ii. 


134 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


to  their  distance  from  Europe,  the  early  resolution  of 
these  nations  to  exclude  all  foreigners  from  a lodg- 
ment on  their  territory  and  from  all  but  the  least  possi- 
ble intercourse,  operated  favorably  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  autonomy.  During  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries  the  principles  of  international  law 
were  undergoing  a formative  process,  and  little  respect 
was  paid  to  the  rights  of  nations  which  could  not  be 
enforced  by  the  sword.  In  the  nineteenth  century  a 
higher  regard  was  beginning  to  be  shown  towards 
weaker  nations,  and  these  two  empires  could  then  with 
greater  safety  to  their  independence  permit  foreign 
intercourse. 

The  opening  of  Japan  was  a natural  sequence  of 
the  partial  unlocking  of  the  doors  of  China  by  British 
arms.  England,  France,  and  Kussia  were  the  European 
nations  most  interested  in  bringing  about  that  result. 
But  the  development  of  commerce  in  the  Pacific,  as  the 
middle  of  the  century  approached,  pointed  unmistak- 
ably to  the  young  republic  of  North  America  as  the 
power  destined  to  bring  about  that  important  event. 
The  English  historian  Creasy,  in  tracing  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  United  States  and  its  recent  great 
development  on  the  Pacific  coast,  writing  in  1851,  pre- 
dicted the  forcible  opening  of  Japan  by  this  govern- 
ment, and,  misinterpreting  its  spirit,  which  he  charac- 
terized as  bold,  intrusive,  and  unscrupulous,’’  he 
added  : America  will  scarcely  imitate  the  forbearance 

shown  by  England  at  the  end  of  our  late  war  with  the 
Celestial  Empire.”  He  looked  forward  to  changes  of 
great  magnitude  in  the  Orient  to  be  brought  about 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


135 


through  the  influence  of  the  United  States,  and  recalled 
the  words  of  De  Tocqueville  that  the  growing  power 
of  this  commonwealth  was  a new  factor  in  the  world, 
the  significance  of  which  even  the  imagination  could 
not  grasp. 

About  the  same  time  another  diviner  was  forecast- 
ing the  horoscope  of  the  young  nation.  William  H. 
Seward,  then  a senator  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  was  urging  upon  that  body  the  imperative  neces- 
sity, in  the  interest  of  American  commerce,  of  more 
accurate  surveys  of  the  North  Pacific  Ocean.  In  a 
speech  which  was  notable  for  its  wide  research,  its  elo- 
quence, and  its  breadth  of  statesmanship,  he  referred 
to  the  great  future  which  he  saw  was  to  be  realized  in 
the  commercial  intercourse  of  the  United  States  through 
its  newly  acquired  possessions  on  the  Pacific  slope,  the 
Hawaiian  Islands,  and  the  certain  opening  of  Japan 
and  China.  He  stated  that  the  relations  with  Europe, 
which  were  then  so  extensive  and  constantly  increasing, 
would  in  time  diminish  and  lose  their  importance,  and 
that  the  great  development  of  the  republic  was  to  be 
on  the  other  side  of  the  continent ; and  he  thereupon 
uttered  this  famous  prediction  : The  Pacific  Ocean,  its 

shores,  its  islands,  and  the  vast  regions  beyond,  will 
become  the  chief  theatre  of  events  in  the  world’s  great 
Hereafter.”  Commerce,  under  the  benign  influence  of 
peace,  was  to  bring  about  this  great  transformation, 
when  the  better  passions  of  mankind  will  soon  have 
their  development  in  the  new  theatre  of  human  ac- 
tivity.” ^ 

^ The  Fifteen  Decisive  Battles  of  the  World,  by  E.  S.  Creasy,  New 


136 


AIVIERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


During  the  first  half  of  the  century  the  governments 
of  Great  Britain,  Russia,  and  France  had  made  efforts, 
through  the  visits  of  their  naval  vessels,  to  communi- 
cate with  the  central  government  of  Japan,  and  to 
secure  some  relaxation  of  its  strict  poHcy  of  seclusion, 
but  all  these  attempts  had  proved  futile.  As  the  ulti- 
mate success  was  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  United 
States,  it  will  be  well  to  refer  to  them  in  some  detail. 

The  first  American  vessel  to  visit  Japan  was  the  Eliza, 
Captain  Stewart,  in  1797.  Holland  being  at  that  time 
at  war  with  Great  Britain,  the  Eliza  was  chartered  by 
the  Dutch  East  India  Company  to  make  the  annual 
visit  allowed  by  the  Japanese  regulations  to  the  factory 
on  the  island  of  Deshima,  in  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki. 
Her  arrival  was  a matter  of  great  perplexity  to  the  Jap- 
anese — a vessel  in  the  employ  of  the  Dutch,  carrying 
an  unknown  flag,  with  a crew  speaking  Enghsh,  but 
belonging  to  a new  country  which  had  another  king 
or  ruler  than  the  English.  After  lengthy  explanations 
and  considerable  delay  she  was  admitted  to  the  harbor 
and  her  cargo  discharged.  During  the  continuance  of 
the  war  other  American  vessels  visited  Nagasaki  under 
similar  charters.  A few  years  later  Captain  Stewart 
appeared  at  Nagasaki,  with  a cargo  on  his  own  account, 
and  sought  to  open  trade,  but  his  request  was  refused 
and  he  was  sent  away.^ 

No  further  serious  attempt  was  made  by  Americans 

York,  1851,  p.  255  ; 24  Congressional  Globe,  part  2,  p.  1973,  32d  Cong. 
1st  Sess. 

1 11  Chinese  Repository,  161;  Nitobe’s  Intercourse  between  the  United 
States  and  Japan,  31. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


137 


at  intercourse  with  the  Japanese  till  1837,  when  an  ex- 
pedition was  organized  at  Macao,  China,  having  a three- 
fold aspect  — humanity,  religion,  and  commerce.  The 
strong  currents  about  the  coasts  of  Japan  and  adverse 
winds  not  infrequently  carried  the  natives  in  their  small 
vessels  out  upon  the  ocean  and  sometimes  as  far  as  the 
American  continent.  This  fact  gives  color  to  the  claim 
sometimes  advanced  that  the  civilization  of  the  Mexican 
Indians  had  its  origin  in  Japan.  A party  of  seven 
shipwrecked  Japanese  had  been  picked  up  on  the  coast 
of  British  Columbia,  and  sent  by  the  Hudson’s  Bay  Com- 
pany across  the  American  continent  and  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  London,  and  by  the  British  East  India  Com- 
pany brought  to  Macao,  to  be  forwarded,  if  opportunity 
offered,  to  their  native  land.  One  of  the  leading  Ameri- 
can mercantile  firms  engaged  in  the  Canton  trade,  Oly- 
phant & Co.,^  conceived  the  idea  that  the  event  might 
be  taken  advantage  of  to  induce  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment to  relax  its  rules  as  to  foreign  intercourse,  and 
they  fitted  out  the  Morrison,  a vessel  named  after  the 
first  English  missionary  to  China,  to  carry  back  the 
shipwrecked  Japanese.  In  the  party  were  the  German 
missionary,  Chinese  scholar,  and  historian.  Dr.  Gutzlaff, 

^ To  Mr.  D.  W.  C.  Olyphant,  of  New  York,  the  founder  of  this  house, 
which  for  many  years  occupied  a prominent  and  honorable  part  in  the 
China  trade,  American  missions  to  that  country  owed  their  origin.  Upon 
his  invitation  the  first  Protestant  missionary,  Robert  Morrison,  of  Eng- 
land, was  brought  to  China.  His  firm  furnished  the  Canton  mission 
a house,  rent  free  for  many  years,  gave  more  than  fifty  free  passages 
to  missionaries  from  the  United  States,  and  in  other  ways  contributed 
largely  to  their  work.  The  Chinese  Repository  was  mainly  indebted  to 
this  firm  for  its  support.  In  all  respects  its  members  reflected  honor 
upon  their  country. 


138 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  American  medical  missionary,  Dr.  Peter  Parker, 
and  Rev.  S.  Wells  Williams,  the  last  two  being  repre- 
sentatives of  the  American  Board  of  Missions.  With 
them  also  went  Mr.  King,  a member  of  the  firm,  and 
his  wife. 

To  divest  the  expedition  of  every  appearance  of  a 
hostile  character,  the  armament  of  cannon  and  small 
arms  invariably  carried  by  trading  vessels  of  that  period 
was  removed.  Quite  an  attractive  collection  of  presents 
for  the  authorities  was  taken  — a globe,  a telescope,  a 
barometer,  a set  of  American  coins,  American  books  of 
science,  history,  etc.,  and  a painting  of  Washington. 
Memorials  or  papers  were  prepared  in  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage, setting  forth  as  the  object  of  the  expedition  the 
return  of  the  shipwrecked  Japanese  and  the  delivery  of 
the  presents.  They  announced  that  they  had  on  board 
a physician,  with  medicines  and  instruments,  prepared  to 
cure  the  sick  gratuitously,  and  they  also  asked  the  priv- 
ilege of  staying  long  enough  to  explain  the  meaning  of 
the  books  which  they  brought.  Their  memorials  further 
gave  some  account  of  the  history  and  resources  of  the 
United  States  and  stated  that  its  policy  was  to  estab- 
lish peaceful  commerce  and  that  it  was  opposed  to  col- 
onies. The  narrative  adds  that  the  vessel  also  contained 
a small  stock  of  goods,  in  order  to  be  prepared  to 
take  advantage  of  any  opening  ” that  might  offer. 

In  place  of  proceeding  to  Nagasaki,  which  was  well 
known  to  be  the  only  port  at  which  foreign  intercourse 
was  allowed,  the  vessel  sailed  direct  to  the  Bay  of  Yedo, 
on  which  the  capital  was  located.  On  entering  the  bay 
she  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a large  number  of 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


139 


armed  boats,  and  hardly  had  she  dropped  anchor,  be- 
fore a fire  was  opened  upon  her  from  the  cannon  of  the 
forts.  To  save  themselves  and  the  vessel  from  destruc- 
tion, the  only  course  seemed  to  be  a speedy  departure. 
Accordingly  they  weighed  anchor  and  put  to  sea,  pur- 
sued by  boats,  from  which  small  cannon  were  fired. 
Several  attempts  to  land  along  the  coast  were  repulsed, 
and  the  course  of  the  vessel  was  directed  to  the  port 
of  Kagoshima,  the  seat  of  government  of  the  powerful 
prince  of  Satsuma.  Here  a hostile  reception  similar  to 
that  in  the  Bay  of  Yedo  was  extended  to  them,  and 
nothing  remained  for  them  to  do  but  to  return  to 
Macao,  which  they  did  without  having  even  set  foot 
on  shore.^ 

The  second  attempt  of  an  American  vessel  to  hold 
intercourse  was  only  a little  less  successful.  The  Man- 
hattan, of  Sag  Harbor,  Captain  Cooper,  in  1845,  while 
sailing  through  Japanese  seas,  found  on  a small  barren 
island  eleven  shipwrecked  Japanese,  and  soon  after- 
wards he  rescued  from  a disabled  junk  eleven  more. 
The  captain  decided  to  take  them  to  the  Bay  of  Yedo 
and  deliver  them  to  the  authorities,  his  object  being 

to  impress  the  government  with  the  civilization  of  the 
United  States  and  its  friendly  disposition  towards  the 
emperor  and  the  Japanese  people.”  He  touched  on 
the  coast  of  the  island  of  Niphon,  and  had  messengers 
dispatched  to  the  emperor  to  inform  him  of  his  coming 
and  the  object  of  his  visit.  On  his  arrival  in  the  bay 
he  was  kindly  received  and  allowed  to  anchor  within  a 

^ Narrative  of  a Voyage  of  the  Ship  Morrison,  by  S.  Wells  Williams, 
1837  ; 6 Chinese  Repository,  209,  353. 


140  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

furlong  of  the  city  of  Yedo.  The  ship  was  surrounded 
by  three  cordons  of  boats,  one  hundred  feet  apart,  to 
the  number  of  nearly  one  thousand,  and  officers  were 
kept  constantly  on  the  ship,  by  whom  the  captain  was 
told  that  none  of  the  crew  would  be  allowed  to  land,  and 
that  if  any  of  them  attempted  it  they  would  be  killed. 

The  vessel  was  permitted  to  remain  for  four  days, 
during  which  time  the  shipwrecked  Japanese  were  put 
ashore,  and  the  ship  supplied  with  fresh  provisions  and 
water.  The  governor  of  Yedo  told  the  captain  that 
^^the  only  reason  he  was  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
waters  of  Japan  was  because  the  emperor  felt  assured 
that  he  could  not  be  a bad-hearted  foreigner  by  his 
having  come  so  far  out  of  his  way  to  bring  poor  people 
to  their  native  country,  who  were  wholly  strangers  to 
him.”  When  the  captain  suggested  that  he  might  find 
other  shipwrecked  mariners  and  would  bring  them  back, 
the  governor  said,  Carry  them  to  some  Dutch  port, 
but  never  come  to  Japan  again;”  and  added  that  the 
emperor  would  prefer  to  have  them  abandoned  than 
that  strangers  should  visit  his  dominions.^ 

The  government  of  the  United  States  was  on  the 
alert  to  second  the  efforts  of  private  American  enter- 
prise whenever  opportunity  should  offer.  When,  in 
1832,  Mr.  Roberts  was  dispatched  to  negotiate  treaties 
with  Siam  and  Muscat,  he  was  furnished  with  letters  of 
credence  to  the  emperor  of  Japan  also,  and  was  in- 
structed, if  he  found  the  prospect  favorable,”  to  visit 
that  empire  and  seek  to  establish  official  relations.  But 
the  situation  at  that  time  did  not  encourage  the  attempt. 

^ Honolulu  Friend,  February  2,  1846. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


141 


When  he  departed  from  Washington  on  his  second 
visit  to  the  Orient  in  1835,  to  exchange  the  ratifications 
of  his  treaties  with  Muscat  and  Siam,  he  was  furnished 
with  a letter  from  President  Jackson  to  the  emperor  of 
Japan  in  the  Dutch  and  Latin  languages,  and  he  was 
instructed  by  the  Secretary  of  State  to  proceed  to  Japan 
as  soon  as  his  duties  were  discharged  in  the  two  former 
countries  and  seek  to  open  negotiations.  His  instruc- 
tions stated  that,  as  the  Dutch  have  their  factory  at 
Nagasaki  and  might  feel  themselves  interested  in  thwart- 
ing your  mission,  it  is  recommended  that,  if  permitted, 
you  should  enter  some  other  port  nearer  to  the  seat  of 
government.” 

Mr.  Roberts  carried  with  him  for  Japan  a consider- 
able collection  of  presents,  among  which  were  a repeat- 
ing  gold  watch  with  a heavy  gold  chain  eight  feet  long, 
a sabre,  rifle,  shot-gun  and  pair  of  pistols,  an  assort- 
ment of  broadcloth,  cut  glass,  a musical  box,  maps,  a 
set  of  United  States  coins,  prints  of  United  States  naval 
victories,  and  ten  Merino  sheep  of  the  finest  wool,  two 
bucks  and  eight  ewes.  He  was  in  addition  authorized, 
in  case  of  effecting  a treaty,  to  promise  presents  to  the 
value  of  $10,000.  Owing  to  his  untimely  death  at 
Macao  in  1836,  the  negotiations  contemplated  were 
never  attempted,  and  the  squadron  which  bore  him  to 
the  East  returned  to  the  United  States  without  touch- 
ing at  any  Japanese  port.^ 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in  1849 

^ For  instructions  of  1832,  S.  Ex.  Doc.  59,  p.  63,  32d  Cong.  1st  Sess. 
For  instructions  of  1835,  Book  of  Instructions,  Special  Missions,  Dept,  of 
State. 


142 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  American  consul  at  Singapore,  Mr.  J.  Balestier,  was 
authorized  to  negotiate  a commercial  treaty  with  the 
sultan  of  Borneo.  He  sailed  from  Canton  in  April, 
1850,  in  the  United  States  naval  vessel  Plymouth,  ac- 
companied by  Rev.  ]\Ir.  Dean,  an  American  missionary 
well  versed  in  the  Chinese  and  Siamese  languages,”  as 
secretary  and  interpreter.  After  touching  at  ports  of 
Annam  and  Siam  to  execute  commissions  of  his  govern- 
ment, he  succeeded  without  much  difficulty  in  making 
a treaty  with  the  sultan  of  Borneo  authorizing  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  that  island.^ 

In  1845  Mr.  Pratt,  a member  of  Congress  from  New 
York,  introduced  a resolution  in  the  House,  recommend- 
ing that  immediate  measures  be  taken  for  effecting  com- 
mercial arrangements  with  Japan  and  Korea.  The 
resolution  was  accompanied  by  a memorandum  giving 
various  reasons  for  its  adoption,  among  which  were  the 
following,  — that  the  failure  of  other  nations  is  no  rea- 
son why  we  should  not  make  a vigorous  effort  now,” 
and  that  the  day  and  the  hour  have  now  arrived  for 
turning  the  enterprise  of  our  merchants  and  seamen 
into  the  harbors  and  markets  of  those  long  secluded 
countries.”^  The  introduction  of  this  resolution  was 
followed  within  three  months  by  an  instruction  to  the 
commander  of  the  naval  squadron  on  the  East  India 
station.  He  was  informed  that  Mr.  Everett,  our  diplo- 
matic representative  in  China,  possessed  letters  of  cre- 
dence to  Japan,  and  the  commander  was  instructed  to 
ascertain  if  the  ports  of  Japan  are  accessible;”  that  if 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  38,  32d  Cong.  1st  Sess. 

2 H Doc.  138,  28th  Cong.  2d  Sess. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


143 


Mr.  Everett  was  inclined  to  make  the  attempt  to  gain 
access  thereto,  he  was  to  hold  his  squadron  at  his  dis- 
position for  that  purpose ; and  should  Mr.  Everett  de- 
cline, he  himself  might,  if  he  saw  fit,  persevere  in  the 
design. 

Under  these  instructions  Mr.  Everett  transferred  his 
letter  of  credence  to  Commodore  Biddle,  who  sailed 
from  Macao  with  two  naval  vessels,  and  anchored  in 
the  Bay  of  Yedo,  July  20,  1846.  He  was  at  once  sur- 
rounded by  a cordon  composed  of  a great  multitude 
of  boats,  and  was  waited  upon  by  a Japanese  official 
to  inquire  the  object  of  his  coming.  The  commodore 
stated  that  it  was  to  ascertain  whether  Japan  had 
opened  her  ports  and  was  disposed  to  make  a treaty 
with  the  United  States.  He  was  asked  to  reduce  this 
to  writing,  which  was  done,  and  the  officer  said  that 
within  a few  days  an  answer  would  be  received  from  the 
emperor,  and  that  in  the  meanwhile  none  of  the  crew 
would  be  permitted  to  land.  On  the  27th  an  answer 
was  delivered  by  the  Japanese  officer,  in  which  it  was 
stated  that  foreigners  could  only  be  received  at  Naga- 
saki, that  no  treaty  with  the  United  States  would  be 
made,  and  that  the  vessels  must  depart  as  quickly  as 
possible  and  not  come  back  any  more  to  Japan.  The 
commodore  received  a blow  or  a push  from  a Japanese 
soldier  during  the  delivery  of  the  letter,  for  which  apo- 
logy  was  made  by  the  Japanese  officials  and  an  assur- 
ance given  that  the  soldier  should  be  punished,  but  the 
incident  greatly  injured  the  prestige  of  the  Americans 
in  the  estimation  of  the  Japanese  people. 

The  squadron  sailed  away,  and  Mr.  Everett  reported 


144 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


to  the  Secretary  of  State  that  the  document  which  was 
handed  to  Commodore  Biddle  as  the  reply  of  the  em- 
peror had  been  prepared  with  an  evidently  studied  and 
intentional  disregard  of  the  rules  of  courtesy  that  are 
usually  observed  in  the  written  intercourse  of  nations  ; 
that  it  was  addressed  to  no  one,  and  was  without  signa- 
ture or  date ; and  that  he  considered  it  as  an  additional 
proof  of  the  extreme  reluctance  of  the  Japanese  to  enter 
into  commercial  relations  with  foreigners..  He  further 
reported  that  Commodore  Biddle  did  not  seem  to  have 
opened  the  negotiations  with  discretion,  and  that  he  had 
placed  the  subject  in  a rather  less  favorable  position 
than  that  in  which  it  stood  before. 

Dr.  Parker,  in  charge  of  the  legation  at  Canton, 
transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  State  in  1848  an  account 
of  the  imprisonment  and  harsh  treatment  by  the  Japanese 
of  the  surviving  members  of  the  crew  of  the  American 
whaler  Lawrence,  wrecked  on  the  Japanese  coast,  and 
added  that  from  previous  instructions  it  was  evident 
that  the  President  was  fully  impressed  with  the  expedi- 
ency of  negotiating  a treaty  with  Japan  to  secure  at 
least  humane  treatment  ” to  shipwrecked  American 
sailors.  This  was  followed  the  same  year  by  informa- 
tion received  at  Canton  through  the  Dutch  consul  that 
fifteen  American  sailors  from  another  whaling  vessel  — 
the  Lagoda  — were  held  as  prisoners  by  the  Japanese. 
This  led  the  commander  of  the  American  East  India 
squadron  to  send  a vessel  to  Japan  to  demand  their 
surrender.  Commander  Glynn,  with  the  Preble,  went  to 
Nagasaki  in  1849,  and,  regardless  of  the  rules  which 
required  foreign  vessels  to  anchor  down  the  bay,  sailed 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


145 


up  into  the  inner  harbor,  and  at  once  put  himself  in 
communication  with  the  governor.  After  some  equivo- 
cation and  delay  the  imprisoned  seamen  were  delivered 
up,  and  the  Preble  rejoined  the  squadron.^ 

The  sailors  both  from  the  Lawrence  and  the  Lagoda 
made  detailed  statements  of  their  treatment  while  held 
as  prisoners  by  the  Japanese,  which  showed  that  they 
had  suffered  great  indignity  and  cruelty.  They  alleged 
that  they  ha,d  been  required  to  trample  and  spit  upon 
the  Christiafi  cross ; that  they  had  been  in  some  in- 
stances shut  up  in  narrow  cages,  put  in  stocks,  exposed 
to  unnecessary  hardships  and  severe  weather,  and  that 
as  a consequence  some  of  their  number  had  died.  These 
accounts  had  much  to  do  with  the  final  resolution  of 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to  force  a treaty 
upon  Japan.  And  yet  it  is  not  certain  that  the  Japanese 
government  authorized  any  severe  or  cruel  treatment. 
In  order  to  carry  out  its  policy  of  rigid  exclusion  of 
foreigners,  it  caused  all  who  were  found  on  its  coasts 
to  be  arrested  and  held  as  prisoners.  The  orders  were 
to  send  them  to  Nagasaki,  from  which  port  they  were 
taken  out  of  the  country  by  Dutch  vessels  as  soon  as 
opportunity  occurred.  If  indignity  or  cruelty  was  in- 
flicted, it  was  caused  rather  by  the  zeal  of  subordinates 
than  by  order  of  the  government. 

About  the  year  1850  all  the  waters  around  Japan 
were  swarming  with  American  whalers  in  quest  of  their 
prey.  Not  less  than  eighty-six  such  vessels  were  counted 
by  a Japanese  observer  that  year  as  passing  a single 
point.  It  was  felt  by  them  to  be  a great  hardship  that 
1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  59,  cited,  64-69;  Ib.  3-44,  69-73. 


146  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

they  could  not  resort  to  Japanese  harbors  in  distress  or 
for  water  and  supplies.  It  was  a stiU  greater  cause  of 
complaint  that  the  shipwrecked  sailors  were  inhospitably 
and  cruelly  treated.  Their  complaints  were  being  heard 
at  W ashington.  Added  to  this,  the  commercial  demands 
were  becoming  urgent.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia and  the  sudden  development  of  the  Pacific  coast 
possessions  led  to  a projected  steamship  fine  to  China 
from  San  Francisco.  To  this  end  ports  of  deposit  for 
coal  and  other  supplies  in  Japan  were  felt  to  be  a neces- 
sity. Hence  the  growing  conviction  had  crystallized 
into  a resolution  on  the  part  of  the  government  that 
extraordinary  effort  must  be  made  to  force  the  opening 
of  one  or  more  Japanese  harbors  and  induce  the  empire 
to  adopt  a more  liberal  policy  toward  foreigners. 

The  subject  had  long  attracted  the  attention  of 
thoughtful  people,  and  various  suggestions  had  been 
made  with  that  end  in  view.  Among  others.  Com- 
modore Glynn,  who  in  the  Preble  had  secured  the  re- 
lease of  the  last  crew  of  shipwrecked  sailors,  and  had 
returned  to  Washington,  held  a conference  with  Presi- 
dent Fillmore,  and  submitted  to  him  written  suggestions 
for  such  an  expedition.  The  subject  was  one  in  which 
Mr.  W ebster,  again  Secretary  of  State,  had  taken  a deep 
interest.  Cabinet  councils  were  held,  and  it  was  decided 
that  a strong  squadron  should  be  sent  to  Japan,  and 
that  in  a more  formal  and  decided  manner  a demand 
should  be  made  for  hospitable  treatment  to  American 
sailors  in  distress,  and  for  some  modification  of  the 
existing  regulations  as  to  intercourse  and  trade. 

Commodore  Aulick  was  selected  for  the  important 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


147 


and  delicate  task,  and  was  for  this  purpose  assigned  to 
the  East  India  station.  His  full  powers  to  negotiate 
a treaty,  his  instructions  signed  by  Mr.  Webster,  and 
the  President’s  letter  to  the  emperor  of  Japan,  bear  date 
of  June  10,  1851,  and  he  sailed  the  following  month.^ 
When  he  reached  China  en  route  he  received  a letter 
from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ordering  his  recall.  It 
had  in  the  interval  been  determined  to  intrust  the  mis- 
sion to  Commodore  Matthew  Calbraith  Perry, — an 
officer  who  had  attained  distinction  in  the  navy,  and 
who  had  shown  qualities  which  it  was  thought  peculiarly 
fitted  him  to  carry  to  success  this  undertaking,  of  such 
moment  to  the  United  States  and  to  mankind,  and  one 
in  the  accomphshment  of  which  officers  of  the  American 
and  European  navies  had  thus  far  failed.  Perry  came 
of  sailor  stock,  his  father  having  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary navy,  and  his  brother  Oliver  being  the  hero  of 
the  victory  on  Lake  Erie  in  1813.  At  the  time  of  his 
appointment  to  the  mission  he  was  fifty-eight  years  of 
age. 

He  was  given  ample  time  to  make  his  preparations, 
and  great  freedom  in  the  selection  of  his  subordinates. 
America  and  Europe  were  searched  for  publications 
which  would  be  of  service  to  the  expedition.  The 
charts  used  were  obtained  chiefly  from  Holland,  for 
which  the  government  paid  $30,000.  Van  Siebold’s 

Archiv  ” was  obtained  at  a cost  of  $503,  and  a 
great  variety  of  books  on  Japan  were  collected.  The 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  59,  cited,  74-82.  For  President  Fillmore’s  account,  3 
American  Historical  Record,  148  ; for  Aulick’s  appointment  and  recall, 
Ib.  294. 


148  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

commodore  made  visits  to  New  York,  Boston,  and  New 
Bedford  to  confer  with  captains  of  whaling  vessels 
familiar  with  Japanese  waters  and  merchants  interested 
in  the  commerce  of  the  East.  Prominent  manufacturers 
were  also  visited  to  secure  specimens  of  the  latest  im- 
provements in  the  arts  and  industries.  Scientists,  inter- 
preters, and  such  other  persons  as  could  promote  the 
objects  of  the  expedition  were  secured. 

Frequent  interviews  were  held  by  the  commodore 
with  the  President,  Secretary  Webster,  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy.  The  written  instructions  were  care- 
fully prepared  by  Mr.  Webster,  but  he  died  before  the 
commodore  sailed,  and  they  bear  the  signature  of  ad 
interim  Secretary  Conrad.  The  objects  of  the  expedi- 
tion were  stated  to  be,  first,  protection  for  our  ship- 
wrecked sailors ; second,  the  opening  of  the  ports  for 
the  entry  of  vessels  to  refit  and  obtain  coal ; and  third, 
the  entry  of  ports  for  trade.  The  letter  of  President 
Fillmore  to  the  emperor  of  Japan  was  more  elaborate 
than  the  one  carried  by  Commodore  Aulick,  and  is 
countersigned  by  Edward  Everett,  who  had  become 
Secretary  of  State.^ 

No  secret  was  made  of  the  expedition.  The  official 
instructions  were  published,. and  the  preparations  were 
openly  conducted.  Both  in  America  and  Europe  they 
were  the  topic  of  newspaper  comment  and  general  dis- 
cussion. The  prevailing  feeling  was  of  good-will  for 
the  expedition,  but  grave  doubts  were  often  expressed 
as  to  its  success.  The  good  offices  of  the  government 
of  Holland  were  solicited  by  Secretary  W ebster,  to  pave 
1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  34,  pp.  4-9,  33d  Cong.  2d  Sess. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


149 


the  way,  through  the  Dutch  factory  at  Deshima,  for  a 
friendly  reception  by  the  Japanese  court.  The  Dutch 
government  acted  favorably  upon  the  request,  and  di- 
rected its  East  India  authorities  to  send  instructions  to 
that  end,  but  it  appears  that  Commodore  Perry  reached 
Japan  and  concluded  his  mission  before  the  instructions 
were  received  at  Deshima.  It  is  also  known  that  upon 
the  first  public  intimation  of  the  expedition,  the  Dutch 
government  prepared  a draft  of  a treaty  and  forwarded 
it  to  Nagasaki,  with  a view  to  anticipate  the  work  of 
Commodore  Perry,  but  the  Japanese  government  refused 
to  consider  it. 

The  preparations  for  the  voyage,  made  with  care  and 
deliberation,  were  finally  concluded,  and  the  President, 
accompanied  by  members  of  his  cabinet  and  a distin- 
guished company,  paid  a visit  to  Annapolis  to  bid  the 
commodore  farewell.  The  day  before  he  put  to  sea  a 
dinner  was  given  him  in  Washington  by  a large  num- 
ber of  his  friends  and  well-wishers,  including  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  and  other  cabinet  officers,  senators,  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  and  prominent  citizens,  at  which,  in 
response  to  various  queries,  the  commodore  gave  some 
indication  of  his  plans  and  proposed  operations.  One 
of  the  members  of  the  dinner  party,  writing  many  years 
after  the  event,  said  : It  was  apparent  that  all  present 

were  well  convinced  that  the  Commodore  fully  compre- 
hended the  difficulties  and  the  delicate  character  of  the 
work  before  him.’’  On  November  24,  1852,  he  sailed 
from  Norfolk  and  passed  the  capes  on  his  long  voyage 
to  open  the  doors  of  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun.^ 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  34,  cited,  20 ; U.  S.  Japan  Expedition,  by  Commodore 


150  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

At  Canton  he  took  on  board  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams 
as  chief  interpreter,  received  a considerable  addition  to 
his  squadron  from  the  East  India  station,  and  pressed 
on  to  Japan.  Early  on  the  morning  of  July  8,  1853, 
the  bold  promontory  of  Idsu  rising  loftily  through  the 
mist  out  of  the  sea  indicated  that  the  Bay  of  Yedo  was 
near  at  hand.  Everything  was  stir  and  bustle  on  ship- 
board. The  commodore’s  report  says  that  signals  were 
given  to  the  squadron,  and  instantly  the  decks  were 
cleared  for  action,  the  guns  placed  in  position  and 
shotted,  the  ammunition  arranged,  the  small  arms  made 
ready,  sentinels  and  men  at  their  posts,  and,  in  short, 
all  the  preparations  made,  usual  before  meeting  an  en- 
emy. As  they  entered  the  beautiful  bay,  the  rising  sun 
dispelled  the  mists,  and  revealed  a charming  panorama 
of  busy  shipping  and  lovely  landscape,  with  the  majes- 
tic snow-capped  Fujiyama  towering  in  the  distance. 

Moving  steadily  and  quietly  forward,  with  all  sails 
furled,  the  squadron  kept  on  its  way,  heedless  of  signals 
from  junks  and  boats  swarming  the  waters,  passed  the 
forts,  and  not  until  well  within  the  bay  did  the  vessels 
drop  anchor  off  Uraga.  It  was  the  first  time  a steam 
vessel  had  ever  been  seen  in  Japanese  waters.  The 
Susquehanna,  the  flagship,  was  a new  steam  frigate  of 
the  most  advanced  type,  both  in  model,  machinery,  and 
size,  recently  launched  with  much  enthusiasm  at  the 
Philadelphia  navy  yard.  As  the  vessels  came  quietly 
up  the  bay  in  the  face  of  a strong  head  wind,  with  no 
sails  set,  and  belching  forth  from  their  funnels  volumes 

M.  C.  Perry,  published  by  Congress,  vol.  i.  65,  69 ; Matthew  C.  Perry, 
by  W.  E.  Griffis,  Boston,  1887,  p.  306. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


151 


of  black  smoke,  they  spread  consternation  among  the 
Japanese,  who  for  the  first  time  looked  upon  such  a 
spectacle,  to  them  an  omen  of  frightful  portent.  Among 
the  common  people  of  that  era  there  was  sung  a pop- 
ular ballad,  a legend  of  the  “ Black  Ships  ” which  were 
to  bring  destruction  to  their  nation,  a stanza  of  which 
runs  as  follows  : — 

Through  a black  night  of  cloud  and  rain, 

The  Black  Ship  plies  her  way  — 

An  alien  thing  of  evil  mien  — 

Across  the  waters  gray. 

And  slowly  floating  onward  go 

These  Black  Ships,  wave-tossed  to  and  fro. 

Just  as  the  vessels  of  the  squadron  came  to  anchor, 
at  five  o’clock  in  the  evening,  two  signal  guns  were 
fired  and  a rocket  shot  up  high  in  air  from  a neighbor- 
ing fort.  It  was  the  signal  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
capital  that  the  expected  and  feared  strangers  had  ar- 
rived, of  whose  coming  they  had  received  an  intimation 
through  the  Dutch  at  Deshima.  A native  writer  chron- 
icles the  effect  of  this  signal.  The  popular  commo- 
tion in  Yedo  at  the  news  of  a ^ foreign  invasion  ’ was 
beyond  description.  The  whole  city  was  in  an  uproar. 
In  all  directions  were  seen  mothers  flying  with  children 
in  their  arms,  and  men  with  mothers  on  their  backs. 
Rumors  of  an  immediate  action,  exaggerated  each  time 
they  were  communicated  from  mouth  to  mouth,  added 
horror  to  the  horror-stricken.  The  tramp  of  war- 
horses,  the  clatter  of  armed  warriors,  the  noise  of  carts, 
the  parade  of  firemen,  the  incessant  tolling  of  bells, 
the  shrieks  of  women,  the  cries  of  children,  dinning 


152 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


all  the  streets  of  a city  of  more  than  a million  souls, 
made  confusion  worse  confounded.”  ^ 

Immediately  after  the  ships  anchored  they  were  sur- 
rounded by  numerous  boats,  and  many  of  their  inmates 
attempted  to  get  on  board,  but,  in  accordance  with  pre- 
vious instructions,  they  were  not  allowed.  One  of  the 
most  conspicuous  of  the  boats,  in  which  was  apparently 
a person  of  distinction,  was  permitted  alongside  the 
flagship.  Its  occupant  proved  to  be  the  vice-governor 
of  Uraga,  who  asked  to  see  the  commander  of  the 
squadron.  He  was  told  the  commander  would  confer 
with  no  one  except  a functionary  of  the  highest  rank. 
This  was  in  line  with  the  course  which  Perry  had  marked 
out  for  himself,  to  wit,  to  demand  as  a right,  not  solicit 
as  a favor,  those  acts  of  courtesy  due  from  one  civilized 
nation  to  another  ; to  disregard  the  acts  and  threats  of 
the  authorities,  if  in  the  least  respect  in  conflict  with 
the  dignity  of  the  American  flag ; to  practice  a little 
of  Japanese  diplomacy  by  allowing  no  one  on  board 
the  ships  except  officers  having  business,  and  they  only 
on  the  flagship  ; and  by  personally  conferring  with  no 
one  except  an  official  of  the  highest  rank  in  the  empire. 

Hence  the  vice-governor  was  received  by  the  commo- 
dore’s aide.  His  mission  was  to  inquire  the  object  of 
the  visit,  and  to  say  that  business  with  foreigners  could 
be  transacted  only  at  Nagasaki,  and  that  the  ships  must 
go  there.  It  was  explained  that  the  squadron  had  come 
on  a friendly  mission  to  Japan,  with  a letter  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  the  emperor ; that  the 

1 Perry’s  Expedition,  231,  232  ; Nitobe’s  Intercourse  U.  S.  and  Japan, 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


153 


commander  desired  to  have  an  interview  with  a digni- 
tary of  the  highest  rank  to  arrange  for  the  delivery  of 
the  letter  ; that  he  expected  it  to  he  received  where  he 
then  was ; and  that  he  would  not  go  to  Nagasaki,  but 
would  remain  at  Uraga  because  it  was  near  the  capital. 

In  the  interview  the  vice-governor  was  told  that  the 
commander  would  suffer  no  indignity  to  be  offered  the 
squadron  during  its  stay,  and  that  if  the  guard  boats 
which  were  collecting  about  the  ships  were  not  sent 
away,  they  would  be  dispersed  by  force.  The  vice- 
governor  at  once  went  to  the  gangway  and  gave  an 
order,  with  the  result  that  the  guard  boats  disappeared, 
and  nothing  more  was  seen  of  them  while  the  vessels 
remained.  He  soon  took  leave,  saying  that  an  officer 
of  higher  rank  would  come  from  the  city  the  next  day. 

On  the  following  morning  the  governor  of  Uraga 
came  on  board.  Again  the  commodore  declined  to 
receive  him  in  person,  but  designated  two  of  his  com- 
manders to  meet  him.  A long  interview  took  place,  in 
which  the  governor  made  the  same  declarations  as  to 
Nagasaki  and  the  departure  of  the  squadron  as  had 
been  communicated  the  day  before,  and  was  met  by  the 
same  answer,  only  in  more  decisive  language.  Finally 
he  was  told  that  if  the  Japanese  government  did  not 
appoint  a suitable  person  to  receive  the  documents 
addressed  to  the  emperor,  the  commodore  himself  would 
have  to  go  on  shore  with  a sufficient  force  to  deliver 
them  in  person.  He  was  also  shown  the  President’s 
letter  and  the  commodore’s  credentials  encased  in 
magnificent  boxes  which  had  been  prepared  at  Wash- 
ington, the  exquisite  workmanship  and  costliness  of 


154  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

which  evidently  surprised  his  excellency/’  He  then 
said  that  he  would  return  to  the  city,  and  that  within 
four  days  an  answer  might  be  expected  from  the  court 
of  Yedo. 

On  the  morning  of  that  day  a party  from  each  ship 
was  set  to  work  to  make  a survey  of  the  harbor.  The 
governor  inquired  what  these  boats  were  doing,  and,  on 
being  informed,  repHed  that  it  was  against  the  Japanese 
law  to  allow  such  examinations.  The  answer  given 
him  was  that  the  American  laws  commanded  such  sur- 
veys and  that  the  surveying  parties  were  as  much  bound 
to  obey  the  American  laws  as  the  governor  was  to  obey 
the  Japanese  laws.  No  further  objection  was  made, 
and  the  surveys  continued  from  day  to  day. 

The  commodore  reports  that  the  following  day,  the 
10th,  was  Sunday,  and  no  communication  was  had  with 
the  Japanese  authorities.”  Keligious  services  were  held, 
according  to  the  commodore’s  invariable  custom,  and 
all  requests  for  admission  to  the  ship  were  declined.  On 
Monday  a surveying  party,  convoyed  by  one  of  the 
steamers,  moved  farther  up  the  bay,  much  nearer  to 
Yedo.  The  commodore  intimated  that  such  a move- 
ment might  hurry  the  answer  from  the  court.  This 
action  brought  the  governor  again  on  board  to  ask  its 
object,  and  he  was  told  that  if  the  President’s  letter  was 
not  received  during  the  present  visit  it  would  be  neces- 
sary to  return  the  next  spring  with  a much  larger  fleet,, 
and  the  surveying  boat  was  seeking  for  a better  anchor- 
age nearer  the  city.  The  governor  then  went  away, 
promising  to  return  on  the  day  fixed  for  the  answer 
from  the  court. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


155 


On  the  12th  of  July  the  governor  came  on  board, 
and  stated  that  it  had  been  arranged  that  a high  officer 
would  be  nominated  to  receive  the  President’s  letter, 
and  a building  was  being  erected  on  shore  for  the  place 
of  reception,  but  he  added  that  no  reply  to  the  letter 
could  be  given  at  that  place,  but  one  would  be  trans- 
mitted to  Nagasaki,  through  the  Dutch  or  Chinese 
superintendents.  As  soon  as  this  answer  was  made 
known  to  Perry,  he  wrote  the  following  memoran- 
dum : — 

The  commander-in-chief  will  not  go  to  Nagasaki, 
and  will  receive  no  communication  through  the  Dutch 
or  Chinese. 

He  has  a letter  from  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  dehver  to  the  emperor  of  Japan  or  to  his 
secretary  of  foreign  affairs,  and  he  will  deliver  the  ori- 
ginal to  none  other  ; if  this  friendly  letter  of  the  Presi- 
dent to  the  emperor  is  not  received  and  duly  replied  to, 
he  shall  consider  his  country  insulted,  and  will  not  hold 
himself  accountable  for  the  consequences. 

He  expects  a reply  of  some  sort  in  a few  days,  and 
he  will  receive  such  reply  nowhere  but  in  this  neighbor- 
hood.” 

After  being  translated  into  Dutch  the  memorandum 
was  handed  to  the  governor,  and  he  departed.  In  the 
afternoon  he  returned  to  the  ship,  and  said  that  a very 
distinguished  personage,  properly  accredited  by  the  em- 
peror, would  be  appointed  to  receive  the  commander  on 
shore  the  day  after  the  morrow.  The  day  following  he 
came  to  the  flagship  with  the  credentials  of  the  pleni- 
potentiary and  a certificate  from  the  court  that  he  was 


156 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


of  very  high  rank,  equal  to  that  of  the  lord  admiral/’ 
It  was  arranged  that  the  ceremony  of  reception  of  the 
President’s  letter  should  occur  the  following  forenoon. 

On  the  morning  of  July  14,  the  squadron  took 
position  in  front  of  the  place  fixed  for  the  meeting, 
within  easy  cannon  range.  The  governor  of  Uraga, 
acting  as  master  of  ceremonies,  and  another  Japanese 
official,  escorted  by  a number  of  imperial  boats,  came 
off  to  the  flagship  to  accompany  the  commodore  and 
suite  to  the  hall  of  reception.  As  the  latter  stepped 
into  his  barge  a salute  was  fired  from  the  squadron  in 
his  honor.  This  was  the  first  time  since  his  arrival  that 
he  had  been  seen  by  the  Japanese.  His  escort  con- 
sisted of  all  the  officers  who  could  be  spared  from  the 
ships  and  of  about  three  hundred  sailors  and  marines, 
with  two  bands  of  music.  About  the  landing  place 
and  the  reception  hall  were  stationed  five  thousand 
Japanese  soldiers,  infantry  and  cavalry.  On  landmg 
the  commodore  was  preceded  by  the  Japanese  master  of 
ceremonies  and  one  of  the  squadron  captains,  the  sailors 
and  marines,  two  stalwart  sailors  who  bore  the  Amer- 
ican flag  and  the  broad  pennant,  followed  by  two  boys 
tastefully  dressed  for  the  occasion  bearing  the  boxes 
containing  the  President’s  letter  and  the  credentials. 
Then  came  the  commodore  accompanied  on  either  side 
by  a tall,  well-formed,  heavily  armed  negro  as  a body- 
guard. The  official  narrative  says  all  this,  of  course, 
was  but  for  effect.” 

On  entering  the  hall  the  two  princes  designated  by 
the  emperor  to  receive  the  documents  arose  and  sa- 
luted the  commodore  with  low  bows,  their  names  being 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


157 


pronounced  by  the  interpreters.  The  letters  were  then 
brought  forward  by  the  boys,  the  gold  boxes  opened  by 
the  two  negroes,  the  letter  and  the  credentials,  en- 
grossed on  vellum,  tastefully  bound,  with  seals  attached 
by  gold  chains,  were  taken  out  and  held  up  before  the 
princes,  and  then  laid  upon  the  lid  of  the  scarlet  lac- 
quered box  which  the  Japanese  had  prepared  for  their 
reception.  The  governor  then  kneehng  replaced  the 
documents  in  their  cases  and  deposited  them  in  the 
lacquered  box.  All  this  was  done  in  silence,  not  a 
word  being  spoken. 

The  commodore  then  directed  his  interpreter  to  ex- 
plain to  the  Japanese  interpreter  the  character  of  the 
documents.  After  this  was  done,  the  governor  upon 
his  knees  received  from  Prince  Iwami  a roll,  with  which 
he  passed  over  to  the  commodore,  and  again  falling 
upon  his  knees  delivered  it  to  him.  It  was  a receipt 
signed  by  the  Japanese  princes,  with  a statement  that 
no  further  business  could  be  transacted  at  Uraga,  but 
at  Nagasaki,  and  that  the  fleet  would  be  expected  to 
depart.  After  a few  minutes’  silence,  the  commodore 
told  the  interpreter  to  inform  the  Japanese  that  in 
view  of  the  importance  of  the  business  to  be  consid- 
ered, he  would  leave  in  two  or  three  days,  but  that  he 
would  return  to  the  same  place  the  following  spring 
to  receive  the  answer  of  the  emperor.  The  governor 
asked  if  the  commodore  would  return  with  all  his  ves- 
sels. All  of  them,”  answered  the  commodore,  and 
probably  more,  as  these  are  only  a portion  of  the 
squadron.”  And  thus  closed  the  reception,  which  was 
of  the  most  formal  character  possible,  the  Japanese 


158  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

princes  never  having  spoken  a word,  and  the  whole 
ceremony  lasting  less  than  half  an  hour. 

The  Americans  went  back  to  their  ships,  enlivened 
by  national  airs  from  the  bands,  feeling  highly  gratified 
at  what  had  been  accomplished.  They  had  received 
different  treatment  from  any  foreigners  who  had  visited 
Japan  for  two  centuries.  They  had  commanded  respect 
and  secured  intercourse,  upon  the  basis  of  equality. 
They  held  direct  communication  with  the  highest  impe- 
rial authorities,  without  the  interposition  of  the  Dutch 
at  Nagasaki.  They  disregarded  or  caused  to  be  with- 
drawn local  regulations,  which  were  derogatory  to  the 
dignity  of  their  nation.  On  the  other  hand,  while 
exhibiting  firmness  as  to  their  rights,  they  showed  the 
utmost  regard  for  the  sovereignty  and  rights  of  the 
Japanese.  The  crews  of  the  vessels  were  not  permitted 
to  go  on  shore.  No  native  was  insulted  or  maltreated ; 
no  woman  was  outraged ; no  property  was  taken ; no 
police  regulation  was  violated  — practices  quite  com- 
mon on  the  part  of  the  crews  of  other  foreign  ships. 

The  afternoon  following  the  reception  the  squadron 
moved  ten  miles  farther  up  the  bay  toward  Yedo,  an- 
chored, took  soundings,  and  made  surveys.  On  the 
same  day  the  commodore  addressed  a letter  to  the  em- 
peror, informing  him  of  his  intended  departure  and  his 
expected  return  in  the  spring.  On  the  17th,  having 
been  in  the  bay  eight  days,  the  ships  passed  down  as 
they  had  entered,  under  steam  with  sails  furled,  and 
put  to  sea.  A momentous  subject  had  been  submitted 
to  the  imperial  government  for  decision,  and  the  Ameri- 
can commander  withdrew  his  ships  in  order  that  there 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


159 


should  be  no  appearance  of  coercion  during  its  discus- 
sion and  determination. 

As  soon  as  the  Americans  had  departed,  the  court  of 
Yedo  addressed  itself  to  the  problem  before  it.  Copies 
of  the  President’s  letter  to  the  emperor,  which  set  forth 
the  terms  of  the  treaty  desired,  were  sent  to  the  daimios 
and  principal  dignitaries  of  the  empire,  and  their  opin- 
ions requested.  At  the  same  time  warlike  preparations 
were  set  on  foot.  Strong  forts  were  erected  about  the 
hay  to  protect  the  city  of  Yedo.  Bells  from  the  mon- 
asteries and  metal  articles  of  luxury  contributed  by  the 
wealthy  families  were  cast  into  cannon.  Three  hundred 
thousand  patriot  soldiers  flocked  to  the  capital  to  save 
it  from  desecration  by  the  hated  foreigners.  New  fear 
was  awakened  by  the  appearance  of  a Russian  admiral 
at  Nagasaki  within  two  months  after  Perry’s  departure, 
making  demand  for  intercourse  and  treaty  rights.  The 
priests  of  the  national  religion  were  commanded  to  offer 
up  prayers  for  the  sweeping  away  of  the  barbarians.^ 

The  commodore  had  gone  to  China  to  recruit  and 
reinforce  his  squadron,  and  to  look  after  American  in- 
terests in  that  empire  imperiled  by  the  civil  war  known 
as  the  Taiping  rebelHon,  which  was  threatening  the 
overthrow  of  the  reigning  dynasty.  Our  minister  to 
the  country  was  very  persistent  in  his  request  that  the 
naval  force  should  be  retained  in  Chinese  waters,  hut 
Perry  was  too  much  impressed  with  the  importance  of 
his  mission  to  Japan  to  be  diverted  by  the  civil  war  in 

^ Perry’s  Expedition,  chaps,  xii.-xiv  ; Nitobe’s  Intercourse,  etc.,  49  ; 
1 Japan,  its  History,  Traditions,  and  Religions,  by  Sir  E.  J.  Reed,  Lon- 
don, 1880,  p.  246. 


160 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


China.  Besides,  he  did  not  think  it  wise  for  the  United 
States  to  become  embroiled  in  that  contest. 

Other  reasons  made  him  feel  that  he  should  hasten 
his  return  to  Japan.  He  had  heard  of  the  visit  of  the 
Russian  admiral  to  Nagasaki,  and  he  knew  that  the  lat- 
ter’s fleet  was  lying  in  the  river  at  Shanghai.  A French 
squadron  was  also  in  Chinese  waters,  and  the  commander 
put  to  sea  from  Macao,  where  Perry  then  was,  with  his 
destination  a mystery.  The  latter  feared  there  was 
danger  that  the  fruit,  the  seed  of  which  he  had  sown  at 
Yedo  with  so  much  care,  might  be  gathered  by  others, 
and  he  determined  to  shorten  his  stay  in  China  and 
take  the  risks  of  a winter  passage  to  Japan. 

Stopping  on  his  way  at  the  Lew  Chew  (Loo-Choo) 
Islands,  he  was  overtaken  by  a letter  from  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  Dutch  East  Indies,  notifying  him  that  the 
emperor  of  Japan  had  died  since  his  departure,  and 
conveying  the  request  of  the  imperial  government  that 
he  would  delay  his  return  beyond  the  time  fixed  by  him, 
as  no  business  could  be  transacted  until  the  period  of 
court  mourning  was  over.  The  commodore  expressed 
his  regret  at  the  sad  intelligence,  but  said  that  he  felt 
sure  the  present  rulers  of  Japan  had  become  so  well 
satisfied  of  the  friendly  intentions  of  the  President  that 
they  would  not  be  disposed  to  delay  an  understanding 
between  the  two  nations.  And  he  continued  on  his 
journey.^ 

The  fleet,  now  more  than  double  its  size  on  the  first 
visit,  and  when  fully  assembled  numbering  ten  vessels, 
entered  the  Bay  of  Yedo  February  12, 1854,  some  time 

^ Perry’s  Expedition,  302,  321. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


161 


in  advance  of  the  date  fixed  for  its  return.  It  was  ^n 
impressive  sight  as  it  moved  up  the  bay.  No  such  mar- 
tial array  had  ever  been  seen  in  Japanese  waters.  It 
was  an  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  earnestness  of  the 
United  States.  ' The  city  of  Uraga  was  passed,  no  heed 
being  paid  to  the  government  junks  from  which  officials 
sought  to  communicate,  and  not  until  they  had  left  be- 
hind them  the  reception  place  of  the  President’s  letter, 
and  had  reached  the  distance  of  twelve  miles  above 
Uraga,  did  they  come  to  anchor. 

The  government  boats,  which  had  been  waived  aside 
in  the  lower  bay,  approached  with  a high  Japanese  offi- 
cial and  interpreters.  They  were  received  by  one  of 
the  captains  designated  by  the  commodore,  he  pursuing 
the  policy  of  his  last  visit  of  holding  intercourse  only 
with  a dignitary  of  equal  rank  specially  nominated  by 
the  emperor.  The  official  stated  that  the  imperial  orders 
were  that  the  fleet  should  be  treated  with  the  utmost 
kindness,  and  that  commissioners  had  been  appointed 
to  negotiate  with  the  Admiral.”  He  said  that  the 
place  fixed  by  the  emperor  for  the  conference  was  at 
Kamakura,  in  the  outer  bay.  The  commodore  in- 
structed his  representative  to  reply  that  he  would  not 
return  to  the  lower  bay,  and  that  if  the  commissioners 
were  not  willing  to  treat  with  him  opposite  his  present 
anchorage,  he  would  proceed  with  the  fleet  to  Yedo  and 
ask  to  negotiate  there. 

Some  time  was  spent  in  daily  visits  to  the  flagship, 
discussing  the  place  of  meeting.  The  fact  was  that  the 
court  of  Yedo  had  decided  to  make  the  best  terms  pos- 
sible with  the  foreign  commander,  and  to  comply  at 


162 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


least  partially  with  the  terms  of  the  President’s  letter ; 
and  the  only  object  of  these  discussions  as  to  the  lo- 
cahty  for  the  negotiations  was  to  get  the  fleet  as  far 
away  from  the  capital  as  possible.  The  commodore, 
however,  was  firm,  and  it  was  arranged  that  the  place 
of  meeting  should  be  near  the  anchorage,  at  the  site  of 
the  present  city  of  Yokohama. 

The  first  conference  took  place  March  8,  but  mean- 
while the  credentials  of  the  chief  Japanese  plenipoten- 
tiary had  been  submitted  to  the  commodore  and  found 
satisfactory.  As  on  the  former  visit,  a special  house 
had  been  erected  for  the  conferences.  On  the  part  of 
the  Japanese  there  was  no  such  military  display  as  on 
the  occasion  of  the  delivery  of  the  President’s  letter, 
only  a small  guard  being  present.  But  the  commo- 
dore, true  to  his  purpose  of  impressing  the  Japanese 
with  the  importance  of  the  mission,  came  on  shore  in 
much  the  same  style  as  on  his  first  landing,  with  a full 
detail  of  officers  and  marines  and  to  the  sound  of  mar- 
tial music  and  salutes  in  honor  of  the  emperor,  the 
Japanese  plenipotentiary,  and  himself. 

It  was  found  that  to  the  imperial  plenipotentiary 
four  other  princes  and  persons  of  high  rank  had  been 
added  to  complete  the  commission.  After  the  neces- 
sary introductions,  the  reply  to  the  President’s  letter 
was  submitted,  which  indicated  a certain  acquiescence 
in  its  terms.  The  negotiations  then  began  and  were 
continued  at  various  conferences  through  the  month. 
They  were  quite  formal  in  their  character,  but  marked 
by  the  greatest  courtesy  and  good  feeling,  the  Japanese 
commissioners  proving  quite  equal  to  their  new  and 
untried  duties. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


163 


On  March  11  the  presents  brought  from  the  United 
States  for  the  emperor  and  other  officials  were  delivered 
with  due  ceremony.  They  filled  several  large  boats, 
were  escorted  from  the  ship  by  a number  of  officers,  a 
company  of  marines,  and  a band,  and  were  received  by 
the  high  commissioners  and  their  suite.  In  the  list  are 
noted  a great  variety  of  firearms  and  swords  of  the  latest 
patterns  and  of  fine  workmanship,  a quantity  of  books, 
beautiful  dressing-cases  and  perfumeries,  many  clocks, 
instruments  and  tools,  a complete  telegraphic  apparatus, 
a small  locomotive,  cars,  rails,  and  all  the  appliances 
for  a miniature  railroad,  lifeboats,  and  (not  to  suppress 
the  truth)  many  baskets  of  champagne,  a great  variety 
and  supply  of  liqueurs,  and  many  barrels  of  whiskey. 

Twelve  days  later  the  Japanese  presents  in  return 
were  delivered.  The  commodore  went  ashore  with  a 
numerous  suite  of  officers  to  receive  them.  They  filled 
the  large  reception  hall,  and  were  in  endless  variety, 
representing  the  perfection  of  Japanese  art,  exquisite 
lacquer  work,  the  most  delicate  embroideries,  poi:celain 
ware  most  frail  and  perfect  in  workmanship,  silks,  satins, 
crepes,  pongees  in  great  quantity  and  variety,  fans,  um- 
brellas, dolls,  etc.  There  were  also  fruits,  rice,  fish, 
and  three  hundred  chickens,  but  no  liquors  of  any  kind. 
There  were  presents  from  the  emperor  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  commodore,  to  the  captains 
of  the  ships,  the  interpreters,  etc.,  none  of  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  the  conferences  being  neglected. 
There  were  presents  from  the  commissioners,  counsel- 
ors of  state,  the  governor,  and  the  interpreters.  The 
Americans  were  fairly  equaled  by  their  Japanese  friends. 


164 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


While  the  treaty  negotiations  were  going  on  the 
American  officers  and  artisans  were  busy  in  unpacking 
the  presents  and  explaining  their  operation.  The  tele- 
graph wire  was  stretched,  and  offices  opened  at  either 
end,  from  which  messages  were  sent  in  English,  Japanese, 
and  Dutch,  greatly  to  the  amazement  and  curiosity  of  the 
dignitaries  and  people,  who  daily  crowded  the  build- 
ings. A circular  railway  was  constructed  and  the  Lil- 
liputian locomotive  and  train  of  cars  were  operated  to 
the  wonder  and  delight  of  the  throng  of  spectators. 
These  inventions,  the  steam  engines  of  the  vessels,  and 
the  manoeuvres  of  the  marines,  deeply  impressed  the 
Japanese  with  the  marvelous  power  and  genius  of  their 
visitors. 

The  Japanese  officers  had  been  hospitably  received 
on  their  various  visits  to  the  ships,  and  had  become 
quite  accustomed  to  American  dishes,  and  were  espe- 
cially partial  to  champagne  and  the  other  liquors  served 
them.  When  the  negotiations  were  practically  com- 
pleted, the  commodore  invited  the  Japanese  commis- 
sioners, the  attendant  officials,  and  interpreters  to  a 
banquet  on  board  the  flagship.  Great  good-fellowship 
prevailed,  and  as  the  wine  was  freely  used,  the  toasts 
became  frequent  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  Japanese, 
who  grew  quite  hilarious  over  the  peaceful  termination 
of  the  negotiations. 

At  last  the  treaty  was  agreed  upon  and  ready  for 
signature,  and  the  ceremony  of  signing  took  place  at 
the  hall  of  conference  on  March  31,  1854.  Commo- 
dore Perry  signed  and  delivered  to  the  commissioners 
three  copies  of  the  treaty  in  the  English  language,  and 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


165 


accompanied  them  with  translations  in  the  Chinese  and 
Dutch  languages,  certified  to  by  his  interpreters ; and 
the  commissioners  signed  three  copies  of  the  treaty  in 
the  Japanese,  Chinese,  and  Dutch  languages,  and  handed 
them  to  the  commodore.  Immediately  after  the  cere- 
mony the  commodore  presented  the  first  commissioner 
(Hayashi)  with  an  American  flag,  remarking  that  he 
considered  it  the  highest  expression  of  national  courtesy 
and  friendship  he  could  offer.  The  commissioner,  it  is 
reported,  seemed  deeply  impressed  with  the  gift,  and 
returned  thanks  with  indications  of  great  feeling. 

The  signing  of  the  treaty  was  followed  by  a dinner, 
given  in  the  hall  of  conference  by  the  Japanese  com- 
missioners. It  was  served  entirely  in  native  style.  It 
is  recorded  that  the  feast  did  not  make  a strikingly 
favorable  impression  on  the  guests ; but  they  were 
greatly  pleased  with  the  courtesy  of  their  hosts,  whose 
urbanity  and  assiduous  attentions  left  nothing  to  desire 
on  the  score  of  politeness.  They  departed,  however, 
it  was  confessed,  with  appetites  but  scantily  gratified  by 
the  unusual  fare  that  had  been  spread  before  them.^ 

The  treaty  which  had  been  agreed  upon  was  all  that 
was  expected  by  the  American  negotiator,  the  doughty 
commodore,  except  as  to  the  matter  of  commerce.  The 
Japanese  stipulated  for  the  protection  of  shipwrecked 
sailors  ; two  ports  were  to  be  opened,  in  addition  to 
Nagasaki,  where  Americans  might  land,  where  vessels 
might  obtain  supplies  and  purchase  goods,  and  which 

^ For  narrative  of  events  on  second  visit  to  Yedo  and  negotiation  of 
treaty,  1 Perry’s  Expedition,  chaps,  xviii.,  xix.,  and  xx.;  for  official  report 
and  documents,  S.  Ex.  Doc.  34,  cited,  116-167. 


166 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


might  be  made  depots  for  coal ; and  consuls  or  govern- 
ment agents  were  permitted  to  reside  at  Shimoda,  the 
open  port  nearest  the  capital.  It  was  not  possible  to 
secure  the  privilege  in  the  open  ports  of  unrestricted 
trade.  Hope  was  held  out  that  it  might  be  granted 
later,  hut  for  the  present  the  government  had  gone  as 
far  as  it  was  able  in  view  of  the  national  sentiment,  to 
meet  the  demands  of  the  United  States.  Anticipating, 
however,  that  other  nations  would  soon  bring  like  pres- 
sure upon  Japan  for  treaties,  and  that  they  might  secure 
some  additional  privileges,  a provision  was  inserted  that 
the  United  States  should  enjoy  all  such  privileges. 

The  commodore’s  anticipations  were  soon  reahzed. 
Six  months  after  his  treaty  was  signed  a British  ad- 
miral sailed  into  the  harbor  of  Nagasaki,  and  demanded 
like  treatment  as  the  Americans,  and  October  14, 1854, 
a treaty  was  signed  with  Great  Britain  similar  to  that 
with  the  United  States.  Russia  followed  January  26, 
1855,  Holland  the  same  year,  and  other  nations  later.^ 

Commodore  Perry  had  successfully  performed  his 
mission.  Free  commerce  was  not  yet  secured,  but  he 
had  broken  down  the  barriers  of  non-intercourse,  and 
opened  the  gates  of  the  capital  to  the  access  of  foreign 
governments.  The  first  important  steps  had  been  taken 
by  Japan,  and  the  rest  would  follow  in  due  time.  In 
all  the  negotiations  the  American  commander  exhibited 
marked  skill  as  a diplomatist.  True  the  squadron  was 
a great  support  in  the  negotiations.  But  even  with 
that  it  was  easy  for  him  to  make  a fatal  mistake ; yet  he 

1 Nitobe’s  Intercourse,  etc.  59;  Japan,  by  J.  J.  Rein  (translation). 
New  York,  1884,  p.  243. 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


167 


made  none.  While  he  exhibited  the  firmness  becoming  a 
military  officer  of  his  government,  he  was  careful  not  to 
wound  the  sensibilities  of  the  Japanese.  He  fully  and 
frankly  discussed  with  them  all  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
but  at  the  point  where  further  persistency  was  unwise 
he  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  Japanese  negotiators. 

By  his  skill,  patience,  and  courtesy  he  achieved  a 
great  personal  triumph,  and  rendered  an  inestimable 
service  to  his  own  country,  to  Japan,  and  to  the  world. 
To  his  own  profession  he  added  great  renown.  Eng- 
land, France,  Holland,  and  the  United  States  have  pro- 
duced justly  celebrated  naval  heroes,  who  have  added 
imperishable  glory  to  their  countries,  but  none  will 
stand  higher  on  the  roll  of  fame  or  as  a benefactor  of 
his  race  than  the  sailor  diplomat,  Matthew  Galbraith 
Perry,  who  achieved  a signal  victory  without  firing  a 
single  hostile  shot. 

The  treaty  was  hailed  both  in  Europe  and  America  as 
a great  triumph  of  W estern  civilization.  It  was  promptly 
and  unanimously  ratified  by  the  Senate.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  in  acknowledging  to  Commodore  Perry 
its  receipt  and  the  action  of  the  Senate,  wrote  : I 

tender  you  my  warm  congratulations  on  the  happy  suc- 
cess of  your  novel  and  interesting  mission.  You  have 
won  additional  fame  for  yourself,  reflected  new  honor 
upon  the  very  honorable  service  to  which  you  belong, 
and  we  all  hope  have  secured  for  your  country,  for 
commerce,  and  for  civilization  a triumph  the  blessings 
of  which  may  be  enjoyed  by  generations  yet  un- 
born.” ^ On  his  way  home  he  was  highly  honored  by 
1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  34,  cited,  180. 


168  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

the  American  residents  at  Canton,  and  after  his  arri- 
val by  his  fellow-citizens  in  New  York  and  other  cities. 
Increasing  years  have  added  to  his  fame  and  to  the 
recognition  of  his  services  to  his  country  and  man- 
kind. 

But  in  no  part  of  the  world  has  his  work  been  so 
highly  appreciated  as  in  Japan  itself.  When  the  exchange 
of  the  ratifications  of  the  treaty  was  effected  in  Japan 
on  the  21st  of  February,  1855,  the  commissioners  with 
whom  the  commodore  negotiated  the  treaty  sent  him 
many  messages  of  friendship,  and  the  assurance  that 
his  name  would  live  forever  in  the  history  of  Japan.” 
So  early  did  the  Japanese  begin  to  realize  the  value  to 
them  of  his  enforced  negotiations,  and  time  has  con- 
stantly added  to  this  realization.  The  New  Japan  ” 
dates  back  the  beginning  of  its  progress  to  the  coming 
of  Perry.” 

So  strongly  has  that  country  become  impressed  with 
its  obligations  to  him  that  an  association  in  Japan  set 
on  foot  a movement  to  erect  a monument  to  his  memory. 
The  circular,  signed  by  the  president  (a  member  of  the 
imperial  cabinet),  setting  forth  the  object  of  the  move- 
ment, refers  to  the  visit  of  Perry  as  ^^the  most  mem- 
orable event  in  our  annals  — an  event  which  enabled 
the  country  to  enter  upon  the  unprecedented  era  of 
national  ascendancy  in  which  we  are  now  living.”  The 
monument  was  erected  upon  the  spot  where  the  com- 
modore first  landed  and  held  his  conferences  with  the 
Japanese  plenipotentiary.  The  money  for  its  erection 
w^as  contributed  by  the  Japanese  people,  the  emperor 
himself  subscribing  to  the  fund ; and  the  inscription 


THE  OPENING  OF  JAPAN 


169 


upon  itj  recognizing  the  commodore’s  services  in  appro- 
priate terms,  was  prepared  by  Marquis  Ito. 

The  dedication  took  place  on  July  14,  1901,  being 
the  forty-eighth  anniversary  of  the  event.  The  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  sent  a squadron  to  participate 
in  the  exercises,  commanded  by  Rear-Admiral  Rodgers, 
a grandson  of  Perry,  and  there  was  also  present  Rear- 
Admiral  Beardslee,  who  was  a midshipman  in  Perry’s 
fleet.  The  Japanese  government  honored  the  occasion 
with  the  presence  of  its  army  and  navy.  The  president 
of  the  association,  in  his  dedicatory  address,  gave  as  the 
reason  for  the  location  of  the  monument  that  it  was 
at  this  spot  that  the  modern  civilization  of  our  empire 
had  its  beginning.  . . . When  Commodore  Perry  set 
his  foot  on  this  shore  the  Japanese  empire  was  en- 
shrouded in  the  fogs  of  a seclusion  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred years.”  He  proceeded  to  review,  ^Hhe  complete 
and  wonderful  change  ” which  the  nation  had  made,  and 
for  which  it  was  mainly  under  obligations  to  the  United 
States.  This  monument,”  he  said,  is  erected  to  pre- 
serve on  stone  our  determination  never  to  forget  the 
friendship  of  the  United  States  that  sent  Commodore 
Perry  to  induce  us  in  a peaceful  way  to  have  intercourse 
with  foreign  powers.”  The  prime  minister  of  the  em- 
pire also  delivered  an  address  of  similar  purport,  in 
which  he  said : It  gives  me  boundless  joy  to  partici- 

pate in  this  grand  celebration  at  this  moment  when  the 
light  of  our  progress  is  sending  forth  its  rays  with 
increasing  brightness.”  ^ Such  an  occasion  and  such  a 
tribute  are  without  a parallel  in  the  history  of  nations. 

^ Foreign  Relations  U.  S.  1901,  p.  378. 


VI 


THE  TRANSFORaiATION  OF  JAPAN 

The  United  States  in  1854  had  attained  a com- 
mercial and  industrial  position  among  the  nations  of 
the  world,  which  for  rapidity  of  growth  and  for  im- 
portance was  unprecedented  in  history.  It  was  an  era 
peculiarly  fitted  for  the  development  of  American  com- 
merce. The  unsettled  political  state  of  Europe,  which 
had  materially  reduced  its  productiveness,  had  but 
added  to  the  trade  of  the  United  States  in  the  Atlantic ; 
while  the  settlement  of  California  had  created  a new 
centre  of  energy  on  the  Pacific,  and  greatly  stimulated 
national  interest  and  effort  in  commercial  intercourse 
with  the  East.  It  was  but  natural,  then,  that  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  should  have  received  the 
announcement  of  the  success  of  the  Japan  expedition 
with  satisfaction  at  the  prospect  of  material  benefit 
which  it  offered,  and  with  pride  in  the  American  enter- 
prise and  skill  which  had  opened  a new  field  for  their 
activities. 

Up  to  the  period  when  this  expedition  was  initiated 
the  two  neighboring  empires  of  the  Far  East  had  pre- 
served a uniform  pohcy  in  their  relations  with  the 
Western  nations.  This  pohcy  was  steadily  persisted  in 
to  the  point  where  warlike  opposition  was  encountered. 
When  confronted  by  a serious  display  of  force,  the 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


171 


dissimilar  character  of  the  two  peoples  dictated  a di- 
vergent course  of  conduct.  The  Chinese  with  blind 
obstinacy  adhered  to  their  policy,  while  the  Japanese, 
though  a warlike  people,  were  able  to  discern  the  situa- 
tion of  affairs  and  yielded  to  the  inevitable. 

The  government  at  Yedo  negotiated  with  the  Ameri- 
can plenipotentiary  under  the  persuasive  influence  of 
his  warlike  fleet,  and  made  the  best  terms  possible 
rather  than  hazard  the  consequences  of  a military  con- 
flict. But  much  had  yet  to  be  done  by  way  of  ne- 
gotiation before  Japan  was  opened  to  commerce  and 
intercourse  with  the  world.  The  first  step,  however, 
had  been  taken  and  the  spirit  of  the  age  would  not 
permit  a backward  movement. 

The  first  appearance  of  a foreign  vessel  in  the  Bay  of 
Yedo  after  Commodore  Perry  had  taken  his  departure 
was  that  of  the  American  clipper-ship  Lady  Pierce. 
She  had  been  fitted  out  by  her  owner  for  a pleasure 
voyage,  and,  anticipating  the  success  of  the  Perry  mis- 
sion, sailed  from  San  Francisco  for  Japan.  Fifteen 
days  after  the  commodore  left,  the  Lady  Pierce  entered 
the  bay  as  a token  of  peace  and  amity.”  En  route  at 
Honolulu  a shipwrecked  Japanese  was  taken  aboard, 
and  for  his  return  the  thanks  of  the  authorities  were 
tendered.  The  vessel  attracted  great  attention  by  the 
symmetry  of  her  model  and  the  elegance  of  her  appoint- 
ments. Orders  were  received  from  the  capital  that 

similar  hospitahty  to  that  displayed  toward  Com- 
modore Perry”  should  be  extended.  During  the  stay 
the  vessel  was  furnished  with  all  needed  supplies,  and 
at  its  departure  presents  were  sent  the  captain  from  the 


172 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Shogun.  But  notice  was  given  that  thereafter  all 
foreign  vessels  must  resort  to  the  new  treaty  port  of 
Shimoda,  as  they  would  not  be  permitted  to  enter  the 
Bay  of  Yedo.  The  favorable  change  in  the  demeanor 
of  the  authorities  was  very  marked.^ 

The  government  of  the  United  States  lost  no  time 
in  taking  advantage  of  the  privileges  secured  by  the 
Perry  treaty.  The  eleventh  article  provided  for  the 
residence  of  a consul  or  agent  in  Shimoda  eighteen 
months  after  the  signing  of  the  treaty.  Exercising 
some  license  as  to  this  provision,  a consul-general  was 
appointed  July  31,  1855,  to  reside  at  Shimoda,  and  a 
month  earlier  a consul  was  named  for  Hakodate,  the 
other  open  port.  Townsend  Harris,  of  New  York,  was 
selected  for  the  post  of  consul-general.  His  school 
education  was  confined  to  the  academy  of  his  native 
town,  but  his  taste  for  study  caused  him  to  read  exten- 
sively and  also  to  acquire  a knowledge  of  the  French, 
Spanish,  and  Italian  languages.  He  was  trained  for 
mercantile  pursuits,  and  for  many  years  was  a mer- 
chant in  the  city  of  New  York.  For  six  years  previous 
to  his  appointment  he  was  engaged  in  commerce  in  the 
East  as  supercargo  and  merchant,  and  in  this  way  had 
become  familiar  with  the  people  of  the  Orient. 

He  was  also  charged  with  the  negotiation  of  a new 
treaty  with  Siam,  the  one  made  by  Mr.  Roberts  in 
1833  not  having  proved  fully  adequate  for  the  pro- 
tection of  American  interests.  This  duty  he  was  en- 
abled to  discharge  successfully,  and,  after  a short  delay, 
1 The  China  Mail,  August  24,  1854. 


THE  TRANSFOKMATION  OF  JAPAN 


173 


continued  on  his  voyage  to  Japan  in  a naval  vessel 
which  had  been  placed  at  his  service.^ 

The  San  Jacinto  with  the  consul-general  on  board 
reached  Shimoda,  August  21,  1856.  Mr.  Harris  kept 
a journal  during  his  residence  in  Japan,  and  as  he 
sailed  up  the  coast  in  sight  of  Fujiyama,  he  makes  this 
entry : I shall  be  the  first  recognized  agent  from  a 

civilized  power  to  reside  in  Japan.  This  forms  an 
epoch  in  my  life,  and  may  be  the  beginning  of  a new 
order  of  things  in  Japan.  I hope  I may  so  conduct 
myself  that  I may  have  honorable  mention  in  the  his- 
tories which  will  be  written  on  Japan  and  its  future 
destiny.’’  As  indicated  in  this  extract,  he  at  all  times 
during  his  mission  evinced  a laudable  ambition,  but  it 
was  tempered  with  a well-becoming  degree  of  reserve. 

From  his  first  intercourse  with  the  officials  at  Shimoda 
he  was  met  with  obstruction,  evasion,  and  prevarication 
which  sorely  tried  his  patience.  The  governor  said  that 
it  was  not  expected  that  a consul  would  be  sent  unless 
some  difficulty  should  arise,  and  that  no  arrangements 
had  been  made  to  receive  him  and  no  proper  house 
could  be  had.  He  advised  the  consul-general  to  go 
away  and  return  in  a year.  At  the  official  interview 
granted  him  and  Commodore  Armstrong  of  the  San 
Jacinto,  Harris  was  again  requested  to  go  away,  and 
when  he  declined  the  commodore  was  asked  if  he  would 
take  a letter  to  the  United  States  expressing  a desire 
for  the  consul’s  removal,  but  he  also  declined.  He  was 
then  asked  if  he  would  write  his  government  and 

^ For  negotiations  in  Siam,  Fankwei : The  San  Jacinto  in  the  Seas  of 
India,  China,  and  Japan,  by  Dr.  W.  M.  Wood. 


174  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

explain  why  Harris  could  not  be  received,  and  when 
answered  in  the  negative,  it  was  proposed  to  Harris  to 
write  and  ask  for  his  own  removal. 

Meeting  with  a refusal  at  all  points  and  being  noti- 
fied by  Harris  that,  if  not  received  at  Shimoda,  he 
would  go  in  the  San  Jacinto  to  Yedo,  the  governor 
provided  a temple  for  his  accommodation,  but  said  that 
three  of  its  rooms  would  be  required  for  the  Japanese 
officials  who  had  been  assigned  to  aid  and  protect  ” 
the  consul.  To  this  Harris  objected,  saying  that  he 
would  have  in  his  house  none  but  his  own  suite  and 
servants.  He  was  finally  installed  and  the  American 
flag  unfurled  from  a high  staff  in  front  of  the  con- 
sulate. His  next  trouble  was  that  guards  were  sta- 
tioned about  his  house,  nominally  for  his  protection, 
but  manifestly  as  spies  and  to  restrain  his  movements. 
After  vigorous  protests  these  were  removed.  Then  he 
was  forced  to  complain  that  his  servants  were  not  per- 
mitted to  make  purchases  and  were  dependent  on  the 
officials  for  supplies.  By  slow  degrees  he  brought  the 
authorities  to  comprehend  and  respect  his  rights  as  a 
foreign  representative. 

Although  he  held  the  rank  only  of  consul-general, 
Mr.  Harris  had  been  clothed  by  his  government  with 
diplomatic  powers,  and  immediately  on  his  arrival  he 
dispatched  a letter  to  the  minister  in  charge  of  foreign 
affairs  at  Yedo,  informing  him  of  his  arrival  and 
character,  and  also  transmitting  a letter  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  of  the  United  States.  As  soon  as  he 
could  adjust  himself  to  his  surroundings  and  secure  a 
proper  recognition  of  his  official  rights,  he  set  to  work 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


175 


to  correct  some  of  the  misunderstandings  which  had 
arisen  respecting  the  Perry  treaty.  The  Japanese  had 
denied  the  right  of  Americans  to  reside  in  the  treaty 
ports.  They  had  also  fixed  a grossly  inadequate  value 
on  American  coins  used  in  purchasing  supplies  and  in 
trade,  and  had  raised  various  other  questions.  After  per- 
sistent demands,  commissioners  were  appointed  to  nego- 
tiate with  him,  and  on  J une  17,  1857,  ten  months  after 
his  arrival,  he  concluded  and  signed  with  them  a treaty. 

By  this  convention  the  right  of  permanent  residence 
in  the  treaty  ports  was  granted  to  Americans,  the  rate 
of  American  currency  was  fixed  at  its  true  value,  juris- 
diction was  granted  to  the  consuls  to  try  Americans  for 
offenses  committed  in  Japan,  and  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  consuls  were  more  clearly  defined.  These  were 
important  concessions  secured  by  the  patient,  though 
persistent,  American  representative,  but  they  had  been 
obtained  by  him  under  trying  circumstances.  The  Jap- 
anese obstructions  were  a severe  trial,  but  the  apparent 
neglect  of  his  own  government  was  even  more  dispirit- 
ing. For  more  than  twelve  months  after  his  arrival  he 
was  without  a single  communication  from  Washington, 
and  he  lived  practically  the  life  of  a hermit.  The  only 
white  person  with  whom  he  had  intercourse  was  his 
secretary.  His  stock  of  European  provisions  was  long 
exhausted  before  a naval  vessel  brought  him  a new 
supply,  and  his  health  felt  the  effects  of  the  exclusively 
Japanese  fare.  Yet  there  was  still  before  him  new 
tests  of  his  patience  and  official  endurance,  though  to 
be  finally  crowned  with  even  greater  success.^ 

^ For  details  of  Mr.  Harris’s  residence  at  Shimoda,  see  his  Journal  in 
Life  of  Townsend  Harris,  by  W.  E.  Griffis,  Boston,  1895. 


176 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Mr.  Harris  brought  with  him  a letter  from  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  the  emperor  of  Japan,  and 
soon  after  his  arrival  he  had  applied  for  an  audience  of 
the  emperor  to  present  the  letter,  which  would  involve 
a journey  to  the  capital.  Such  an  event  as  the  official 
visit  of  a diplomatic  representative  of  a Western  nation 
to  the  capital  and  his  reception  by  the  Shogun  (or 
Tycoon)  was  without  precedent  in  Japanese  history. 
Evil  portents  had  followed  the  advent  of  Perry.  A 
fearful  earthquake  had  destroyed  a large  part  of  Yedo 
and  the  surrounding  towns.  This  was  followed  by  a 
typhoon  by  which  more  than  a hundred  thousand  lives 
were  lost.  And  even  at  that  time  the  capital  was  be- 
ing ravaged  by  an  epidemic  of  cholera  whose  victims 
amounted  to  thirty  thousand.  In  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple, Providence  was  pronouncing  condemnation  against 
the  intrusion  of  the  foreigners. 

But  the  American  representative  was  urgent,  and  in 
order  to  avoid  the  alternative  of  having  the  President’s 
letter  borne  to  the  capital  by  another  fleet  of  warlike 
vessels  and  delivered  under  the  guns  of  the  intruders, 
it  was  finally  decided  to  permit  the  peaceful  visit  of  the 
diplomatic  representative  and  to  grant  him  a personal 
audience  of  the  Shogun.  Shimoda  was  situated  several 
days’  travel  from  Yedo,  and  the  journey  was  made  over- 
land. The  escort  which  conducted  the  American  am- 
bassador,” as  he  was  termed  by  the  Japanese,  to  Yedo 
presented  a picturesque  appearance.  First  came  an 
avant-courrier  on  horseback  with  guards,  attendants, 
and  criers  to  clear  the  way.  Next  was  the  standard- 
bearer  ” carrying  the  American  flag,  a strange  ensign 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


177 


to  the  warlike  Japanese,  made  more  striking  by  the 
peculiar  dress  of  the  bearer,  decorated  with  the  coat  of 
arms  of  the  United  States,  and  surrounded  by  guards. 
Then  came  the  ambassador  ’’  mounted  on  horseback 
with  a bodyguard,  followed  by  his  morimono,  or  chair  of 
state,  and  its  bearers ; the  secretary  on  horseback,  with 
guard  and  chair ; a long  retinue  of  servants,  with  pre- 
sents and  baggage;  also  the  vice-governor  and  mayor 
of  Shimoda,  with  soldiers  and  attendants.  The  whole 
train  numbered  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  persons. 

The  journey  lay  mainly  over  the  Tokaido  or  imperial 
highway,  and  consumed  a week.  Notice  had  been 
given  along  the  route  of  the  coming  of  the  “ ambas- 
sador.” The  bridges  were  all  put  in  order,  the  streets 
of  the  towns  swept,  and  the  municipal  officials  met  the 
procession  and  escorted  the  embassy  through  the  irre- 
spective precincts.  Large  numbers  of  people  crowded 
the  highways,  and  knelt  with  averted  heads  as  the 
“ great  man  ” passed,  perfectly  well  behaved  and  in 
silence ; the  officials  only  saluting  by  the  usual  prostra- 
tion, touching  their  heads  to  the  ground.  The  single 
disagreeable  incident  occurred  as  the  boundary  line  to 
the  metropolitan  province  was  reached,  when  Mr.  Harris 
was  informed  that  according  to  an  immemorial  law,  from 
which  none  were  exempt,  his  baggage  must  be  in- 
spected. This  he  positively  refused  to  permit,  and  after 
much  parleying  he  gained  his  point,  and  the  procession 
moved  on  across  the  sacred  boundary. 

The  day  which  would  have  concluded  the  journey 
and  marked  his  entrance  into  Yedo  fell  upon  Sunday, 
but  the  representative  of  a Christian  country  declined 


178  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

to  go  forward,  and  halted  to  spend  the  Sabbath  accord- 
ing to  his  custom.  ^^Ever  since  I have  been  in  this 
country/’  he  records  in  his  journal,  I have  refused  to 
transact  any  business  on  that  day.  . . . They  now  fully 
understand  my  motives,  and  they  respect  me  for  them.” 
It  was  the  first  Sunday  in  Advent.  He  says,  I read 
the  whole  service  for  the  day  with  Mr.  Heusken  [his 
secretary]  as  my  clerk  and  congregation.”  Later  he 
describes  similar  observances  of  the  day  in  the  capital, 
and  says  he  not  only  read  the  service  in  a loud  voice  so 
that  the  Japanese  might  hear  it,  but  also  told  his  offi- 
cial attendants  that  it  was  the  Christian  service. 
shall  be  both  proud  and  happy  if  I can  be  the  humble 
means  of  once  more  opening  Japan  to  the  blessed  rule 
of  Christianity.”  He  was  soon  to  have  his  prayer  an- 
swered. 

The  entrance  of  the  American  representative  into 
Yedo,  following  the  flag  of  his  country,  was  a memora- 
ble event  in  Japanese  history.  It  was  effected  with 
considerable  pomp,  and  was  witnessed  by  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  people  in  perfect  silence  and  good  order. 
After  the  customary  preHminary  visits  to  the  chief  min- 
ister of  state  and  others,  the  audience  of  the  Shogun 
and  delivery  of  the  President’s  letter  took  place.  The 
details  of  this  ceremony  had  been  in  the  main  agreed 
upon  before  the  departure  from  Shimoda.  When  it 
was  suggested  to  Mr.  Harris  that  he  should  perform 
the  usual  prostrations  in  the  presence  of  the  Shogun, 
he  peremptorily  refused  and  said  he  would  consider  it 
an  insult  if  the  subject  was  ever  again . mentioned  to 
him.  It  was  arranged  that  he  would  be  received  with 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


179 


the  ceremonies  usual  in  European  courts,  he  making 
the  three  customary  bows  on  appearing  in  the  imperial 
presence.  He  describes  his  uniform  as  follows : My 

dress  was  a coat  embroidered  with  gold  after  the  pat- 
tern furnished  by  the  state  department,  blue  pantaloons 
with  a broad  gold  band  running  down  each  leg,  cocked 
hat  with  gold  tassels,  and  a pearl-handled  dress-sword.” 
In  contrast  with  the  attitude  of  the  American  represent- 
ative, aU  the  officials  present  at  the  audience  including 
the  chief  minister  of  state,  the  princes,  and  even  the 
three  brothers  of  the  Shogun,  prostrated  themselves  in 
his  presence  and  only  moved  by  crawhng  on  their  hands 
and  knees. 

Mr.  Harris  records  that  the  prince,  who  had  been 
assigned  to  accompany  him  during  the  audience,  after- 
wards told  him  that  all  who  were  present  were  amazed 
at  my  ^greatness  of  soul,’  at  my  bearing  in  presence 
of  the  mighty  ruler  of  J apan  ; they  had  looked  to  see 
me  ^ tremble  and  quake,’  and  to  speak  in  a faltering 
voice.”  While  Mr.  Harris  enters  this  in  his  journal,  he 
says  he  is  inclined  to  think  there  is  an  admixture  of 

soft-sawder  ” in  it.  The  audience  was  followed  by  a 
dinner  sent  by  the  Shogun  to  the  diplomat’s  apart- 
ments, and  later  by  an  exchange  of  presents,  among 
those  of  the  American  prominently  appearing  cham- 
pagne and  liquors.^ 

The  great  work  which  Harris  had  in  hand  stiU  re- 
mained to  be  accomplished  — the  granting  of  residence 
to  diplomatic  ministers  at  the  capital  and  the  opening 

1 For  journey  and  audience,  Harris’s  Journal,  Griffis,  chaps,  xi.  and  xii. 
For  Harris’s  letter,  July  3,  1858,  Littell’s  Living  Age,  1859,  p.  567. 


180  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

of  Japan  to  commerce  and  Christianity.  It  was  a labor 
which  required  great  patience  and  toil,  and  continued 
through  several  months.  Commissioners  of  high  rank 
were  delegated  to  conduct  the  negotiations  with  him ; 
and  although  men  of  the  first  intelligence  in  the  em- 
pire, they  acted  with  the  simplicity  of  children  in  their 
conferences  with  the  American  negotiator.  Twenty 
years  after  the  event  the  papers  of  the  Shogun  were 
made  accessible  to  the  American  leo:ation  at  Tokio,  and 
a translation  of  the  accounts  of  some  of  these  confer- 
ences as  recorded  by  the  imperial  commissioners  was 
transmitted  to  the  Department  of  State,  which  shows  a 
curious  state  of  mind  on  the  part  of  the  commis- 
sioners.^ 

Mr.  Harris  was  invited  by  them  to  state  what  he  de- 
sired to  accomplish  in  the  negotiations,  and  to  give 
them  an  account  of  the  condition  of  pohtical  and  com- 
mercial affairs  in  the  outer  world.  He  discoursed  to 
them  for  more  than  two  hours,  and  this  was  followed 
by  a series  of  questions  and  answers.  In  his  journal 
he  records  that  as  the  shades  of  evening  began  to  gather 
he  ordered  in  the  lamps,  but  the  commissioners  told 
me  I had  fairly  beaten  them  in  my  powers  of  endur- 
ance, and  they  must  beg  to  be  excused.”  The  Japa- 
nese record  shows  that  in  the  course  of  the  conferences 
the  commissioners  asked,  among  other  things,  if  it  was 
necessary  after  establishing  treaty  relations  to  admit 
ministers,  and  when  the  American  ambassador  ” had 
replied  in  the  affirmative,  they  asked  — 

Question.  What  is  the  duty  of  a minister  ? 

^ D.  W.  Stevens  to  Secretary  of  State,  Foreign  Relations,  1879,  p.  621. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


181 


Answer.  * * * 

Question.  What  is  the  rank  of  a minister  ? 

Answer.  * * * 

Question.  What  kind  of  a thing  is  the  law  of  na- 
tions ? 

Answer.  * * * 

Question.  Let  us  now  hear  what  is  meant  by  open- 
ing ports  like  other  nations. 

Answer.  * * * 

Question.  Is  there  anything  more  we  ought  to 
know  ? 

Answer.  * * * 

In  his  record  of  these  conferences  Mr.  Harris  says  : 
I may  be  said  to  be  engaged  in  teaching  the  elements 
of  political  economy  to  the  Japanese.  . . . They  said 
they  were  in  the  dark  on  all  these  points,  and  were  like 
children  ; therefore  I must  have  patience  with  them. 
They  added  that  they  placed  the  fullest  confidence  in 
all  my  statements.  ...  I then  gave  them  champagne, 
which  they  appeared  to  understand  and  to  like.” 
Champagne  seems  to  have  been  an  important  factor  in 
the  diplomacy  of  the  Orient. 

By  his  forbearance  and  painstaking  method  of  ex- 
planation and  instruction,  Harris  won  the  confidence  of 
the  imperial  negotiators,  and  by  yielding  on  non-essen- 
tial points  and  demands  which  the  Japanese  could  not 
well  concede,  he  succeeded  in  obtaining  a treaty  which 
completely  satisfied  his  own  government  and  was  ac- 
cepted as  a model  by  all  the  European  nations.  Much 
delay  in  its  signature  was  occasioned  by  the  opposition 
of  the  daimios  and  other  influential  dignitaries.  A 


182 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


copy  of  the  treaty  was  carried  to  the  sacred  city  of 
Nikko  and  laid  upon  the  tomb  of  the  founder  of  the 
Shogunate,  in  the  hope  that  some  revelation  might 
come  from  the  spirit-land.  It  was  likewise  submitted 
to  the  Mikado’s  court  without  avail.  After  all  his  la- 
bors, Harris  began  to  fear  that  his  work  would  come  to 
naught,  and  in  his  intense  anxiety  he  fell  ill,  which  en- 
abled the  court  of  Yedo  to  show  its  tender  regard  for 
him  in  the  healing  services  of  its  physician. 

Two  concurrent  events  at  last  led  to  the  consumma- 
tion of  his  ardent  hopes.  Prince  li-Kamon,  a man  of 
resolute  character  and  one  who  foresaw  the  future,  be- 
came chief  minister  of  state.  The  war  which  England 
and  France  were  waging  against  China  seemed  to  be 
nearing  its  close,  and  the  great  armaments  employed  in 
Chinese  waters  would  be  free  to  come  to  Japan  with 
their  ambassadors  to  dictate  treaties.  Mr.  Harris  made 
the  most  of  the  situation,  and  urged  the  Japanese  to 
act  promptly  and  thereby  save  the  point  of  honor  that 
might  arise  from  their  apparently  yielding  to  the  force 
that  backs  the  plenipotentiary,  and  not  to  the  justice 
of  his  demands.”  Prince  li  put  aside  all  opposition 
and  directed  the  Harris  treaty  to  be  signed.  The 
American,  without  the  aid  of  ships  of  war,  had  fought 
his  diplomatic  battle  single-handed,  and  had  won. 
When  the  experienced  British,  French,  and  Kussian 
ambassadors  sailed  into  the  Bay  of  Yedo,  escorted  by 
mighty  fleets,  they  found  the  arduous  part  of  their  task 
already  accomplished. 

The  treaty,  signed  July  29,  1858,  provided  for  diplo- 
matic agents  to  reside  at  the  capital,  and  consuls  at  all 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


183 


the  open  ports.  Commerce  was  authorized,  additional 
ports  were  opened,  and  a tariff  and  trade  regulations 
were  agreed  upon.  Americans  were  permitted  to  reside 
at  the  capital  and  at  all  the  open  ports,  jurisdiction  over 
them  was  given  to  their  consuls,  and  the  free  exercise 
of  their  religion  was  guaranteed.  Other  provisions 
were  made,  and  the  treaty  was  so  broad  as  to  remain 
practically  the  basis  of  Japan’s  relations  with  all  the 
Western  countries  for  a period  of  forty  years,  or  until 
the  empire  was  finally  released  from  its  pupilage  in 
1899,  and  admitted  freely  into  the  family  of  nations. 

Lord  Elgin,  governor-general  of  India,  and  British 
ambassador  accompanying  the  forces  in  China,  reached 
the  Bay  of  Yedo  the  month  following  the  signature  of 
the  Harris  treaty,  having  stopped  on  the  way  at  Shi- 
moda  to  confer  with  the  American  diplomat,  from  whom 
he  obtained  a copy  of  his  treaty,  and  secured  the  aid 
of  his  secretary,  Mr.  Heusken,  as  interpreter.  He  re- 
mained in  the  bay  nine  days,  in  which  time  he  signed 
a treaty  modeled  after  that  of  the  United  States,  and 
delivered  to  the  Japanese  government  a yacht  as  a pre- 
sent from  the  queen  of  Great  Britain.  The  French  and 
Russian  fleets  were  in  the  harbor  during  the  same 
month,  and  following  the  example  of  the  British,  their 
representatives  negotiated  similar  treaties.^ 

Happy  auspices  attended  the  sequel  to  the  signature 

^ For  Harris  negotiations,  Harris  Journal,  Griffis,  chaps,  xiii.  to  xvi.  ; 
Harris  Letter,  July  6,  1858,  Littell’s  Liv.  Age,  1859,  p.  571  ; Nitobe, 
113  ; 1 Japan,  by  Sir  E.  J.  Reed,  London,  1880,  p.  252  ; Narrative  of 
Lord  Elgin’s  visit,  etc.,  Lawrence  Olipbant,  New  York,  1860  ; London 
Examiner,  Nov.  6,  1858,  in  Littell’s  Liv.  Age,  1858,  p.  893  ; 1 The  Capi- 
tal of  the  Tycoon,  by  Sir  R.  Alcock,  London,  1863,  pp.  208-222. 


184 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


of  the  Harris  treaty.  It  provided  that  the  ratifications 
should  be  exchanged  in  Washington,  and  the  faithful 
representative  brought  about  a proposition  from  the 
Japanese  government  to  make  the  exchange  the  occa- 
sion of  a special  embassy  to  Washington.  As  the 
United  States  had  been  the  first  nation  with  which  Ja- 
pan had  made  a treaty,  so,  said  the  ministers  of  state, 
the  first  mission  ever  sent  abroad  by  our  nation  ” 
should  be  to  that  country.  The  suggestion  was  cheer- 
fully accepted  by  the  government  at  Washington,  and 
it  was  determined  to  bring  the  embassy  in  naval  vessels 
of  the  United  States.  Some  delay  was  occasioned,  how- 
ever, by  the  necessity  of  securing  an  exception  to  the 
law  inflicting  the  penalty  of  death  upon  any  one  leav- 
ing the  empire.  The  embassy  consisting,  officials  and 
attendants,  of  seventy-one  persons,  sailed  from  Japan 
in  February,  1860,  the  thoughtful  Harris  having  planned 
the  journey  so  that  his  Japanese  friends  might  see  his 
capital  in  the  genial  month  of  May. 

The  embassy  was  received  in  San  Francisco  with  cor- 
dial welcome,  transferred  at  Panama  to  another  man- 
of-war,  and  brought  direct  to  Washington.  Here  they 
were  made  the  guests  of  the  nation,  received  in  state 
by  the  President,  and  entertained  by  the  Secretary  of 
State.  The  cities  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  vied  with 
each  other  in  extending  hospitalities  and  honors.  They 
attracted  universal  attention  and  friendly  and  favorable 
comment,  their  dignified  deportment  especially  being 
noticed,  the  general  newspaper  remark  being  that  they 
were  quite  as  dignified,  intelligent,  and  well  bred  as  any 
gentlemen  in  any  country  or  time.’’  On  the  other 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


185 


hand,  the  Japanese  were  greatly  pleased  with  their  re- 
ception, and  amazed  at  what  they  saw.  The  chief  am- 
bassador, Shimmi,  wrote  home  in  glowing  terms  of  their 
treatment  : Though  I have  not  yet  seen  the  capital, 

I have  already  amassed  knowledge  and  experience 
enough  to  pile  up  a mountain  or  fill  up  a sea.  But  of 
these,  were  I to  speak  with  you,  three  fourths  will  be  a 
relation  of  what  I grieve  for  for  our  country.’’  The 
embassy  returned  to  Japan  by  the  same  route  and 
method  as  they  came.^ 

Upon  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  Mr.  Harris  was 
commissioned  as  minister,  and  continued  at  his  post  till 
May,  1862.  He  had  under  date  of  July  10,  1861, 
asked  the  President  to  accept  his  resignation  and  ap- 
point his  successor.  He  wrote  : The  extraordinary 

life  of  isolation  I have  been  compelled  to  lead  has 
greatly  impaired  my  health,  and  this,  joined  to  my  ad- 
vancing years,  warns  me  that  it  is  time  for  me  to  give 
up  all  public  employment.”  Secretary  Seward,  in  ac- 
cepting the  resignation,  said  : I regard  your  retirement 

from  the  important  post  you  have  filled  with  such  dis- 
tinguished ability  and  success  as  a subject  of  grave 
anxiety,  not  only  for  this  country,  but  for  all  the  W est- 
ern  nations.”  The  Japanese  government  was  likewise 
very  expressive  in  its  regret  at  his  departure.  The 
ministers  for  foreign  afPairs,  in  a letter  to  Secretary 
Seward,  recognized  his  perfect  knowledge  of  affairs,  his 
friendly  conduct,  and  the  great  value  of  his  services  to 
their  country,  and  regretted  that  he  could  not  continue 
as  minister. 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  25,  36th  Cong.  1st  Sess. ; Harper’s  Weekly,  May  and 
June,  1860  ; Nitobe,  159. 


186 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


The  discoverer  or  explorer  of  regions  before  unknown 
has  always  commanded  just  admiration,  but  the  pioneer 
following  in  his  footsteps  and  by  patient  toil  securing 
to  civilization  the  new  found  lands  is  too  often  forgot- 
ten by  those  who  reap  the  fruits  of  his  labor.  The 
same  is  true  in  the  great  world  of  commerce.  He  who 
first  enters  a new  field  which  gives  promise  of  exten- 
sive trade  is  remembered  and  honored  by  future  gener- 
ations, while  the  man  who  comes  after  him  and  by 
persistent  effort,  unadorned  with  adventure  or  novelty, 
makes  possible  the  development  of  a profitable  com- 
merce, receives  but  slight  commendation  as  recompense 
for  faithful  service.  So  it  was  in  the  case  of  Japan. 
The  name  of  Commodore  Perry  is  familiar  to  every 
American,  while  that  of  Townsend  Harris,  the  nego- 
tiator of  the  first  commercial  treaty  with  Japan,  and  the 
founder  of  diplomatic  intercourse,  is  comparatively  but 
little  known  and  his  achievements  but  little  remembered. 
The  genius  of  Perry  had  unbarred  the  gate  of  the  island 
empire  and  left  it  ajar  ; but  it  was  the  skill  of  Harris 
which  threw  it  open  to  the  commercial  enterprise  of 
the  world. 

The  first  British  minister  to  Japan,  after  becoming 
fully  conversant  with  the  situation  of  affairs,  gave  Har- 
ris great  credit  for  skill  and  estimated  highly  the  value 
of  his  services  to  all  nations.  By  the  Japanese  he  is 
held  in  grateful  remembrance.  He  reflected  great 
honor  upon  his  country,  and  justly  deserves  to  rank 
among  the  first  diplomats  of  the  world,  if  such  rank  is 
measured  by  accomplishment.^ 

^ U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1862,  pp.  799,  812,  816  ; 1 Alcock’s  Capital  of  the 
Tycoon,  208  ; Nitobe,  115. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


187 


The  enforcement  of  the  treaties  of  1858,  whereby 
diplomatic  ministers  were  established  in  the  capital  and 
certain  of  the  ports  opened  to  foreign  residence  and 
commerce,  was  the  signal  for  a manifestation  of  great 
discontent  throughout  the  empire.  Perry’s  treaty  had 
been  bitterly  opposed  by  most  of  the  leading  daimios, 
and  they  had  steadily  set  themselves  against  all  foreign 
intercourse.  Towards  the  Shogun  and  his  government, 
which  had  made  the  treaties,  their  attacks  were  mainly 
directed,  but  the  foreigners  were  destined  to  experience 
the  first  assaults. 

The  dual  form  of  government,  which  had  existed  for 
centuries,  was  involved  in  the  controversy.  The  Mi- 
kado, or  emperor,  resided  at  the  interior  city  of  Kioto, 
and  had  been  kept  in  virtual  retirement,  being  sover- 
eign only  in  name.  The  Shogun,  the  military  com- 
mander, whose  ancestors  had  usurped  the  executive 
functions  of  government,  was  the  real  ruler  of  the  em- 
pire. But  many  of  the  daimios  had  long  been  restive 
under  the  usurper,  and  the  feeling  of  discontent  was 
already  widespread  at  the  time  of  the  coming  of  Perry. 

The  treaties  added  fuel  to  the  flame,  and  the  cry 
was  raised,  Honor  the  Mikado,  and  drive  out  the 
foreign  barbarians.”  Harris’s  journal  shows  that  he 
scarcely  understood  the  internal  situation  at  the  time 
of  his  negotiations.  He  frequently  charges  the  Japa- 
nese officials  with  bad  faith  and  falsehood,  in  protesting 
that  they  could  not  yield  to  his  demands  because  of  the 
prejudice  and  opposition  of  the  enemies  of  the  govern- 
ment, when  subsequent  events  showed  that  they  were 
sincere  in  these  declarations.  After  he  had  been  in 


188  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

the  country  more  than  a year,  he  makes  this  entry : 

Among  the  mysteries  of  this  mysterious  land,  none  is 
more  puzzling  to  me  than  this  Mikado.”  In  1858,  after 
his  treaty  had  been  agreed  upon,  he  records  the  great 
contempt  with  which  the  Mikado  was  spoken  of  by 
the  Yedo  officials,  who  claimed  that  he  was  a mere 
cipher.”  And  yet,  when  the  authorities  found  it  neces- 
sary to  send  his  treaty  to  Kioto  for  approval,  he 
began  to  suspect  that  the  Shogun’s  government  was  an 
empty  sham,  and  that  the  real  ruler  of  Japan  was  the 
Mikado.^ 

The  first  few  years  after  the  treaties  of  1858  were 
times  of  disorder  and  violence.  Even  the  life  of  Mr. 
Harris  was  threatened  while  the  negotiations  were  in 
progress.  In  1859,  during  the  \\sit  of  a Russian  fleet, 
one  of  its  officers  and  two  men  were  killed  in  the 
streets  of  Yokohama.  Early  in  1860  an  interpreter  of 
the  Russian  legation  was  mortally  wounded,  and  the 
captains  of  two  Dutch  vessels  were  hacked  to  pieces. 
In  March,  li,  the  regent  of  the  Shogun,  who  had 
caused  the  treaties  to  be  signed,  was  assassinated  for 
the  alleged  reasons  that  he  was  making  foreign  in- 
tercourse his  chief  aim,”  and  had  insulted  the  Mikado’s 
decree.  Then  Mr.  Heusken,  the  useful  and  worthy 
secretary  of  the  United  States  legation,  was  murdered 
in  the  streets  of  Yedo  in  January,  1861.  The  next 
year  the  British  legation  was  attacked  by  a foreign- 
hating  mob  and  two  of  the  British  guards  were  killed. 
Bands  of  lawless  men,  roninSy  were  abroad  stirring  up 

1 Harris’s  Journal,  122,  270,  313;  Chamberlain’s  Things  Japanese, 
385. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


189 


opposition  to  the  foreigners,  and  the  Shogunate  seemed 
powerless  to  repress  them. 

During  this  year  occurred  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
cases  of  assaults  upon  foreigners.  A Mr.  Richardson, 
an  Englishman,  with  a few  friends,  while  riding  on  the 
Japanese  highway  near  Yokohama,  was  attacked  and 
killed  by  some  of  the  followers  of  the  prince  of  Sat- 
suma,  one  of  the  most  powerful  daimios  of  the  empire 
and  a bitter  opponent  of  the  foreigners.  The  conduct 
of  the  Englishman  which  caused  the  assault  sterns  to 
have  been  very  foolhardy,  but  the  British  minister  made 
a demand  upon  the  Shogunate  for  $500,000  and  upon 
the  daimio  of  Satsuma  for  $125,000  as  an  indemnity. 
The  Shogunate  after  some  delay  agreed  to  the  payment 
of  the  first  sum,  but  the  prince  of  Satsuma  refused. 
A British  squadron  was  dispatched  to  Kagoshima,  the 
daimio’s  capital,  which  was  bombarded  and  burnt,  after 
which  the  indemnity  was  paid.^ 

This  lesson,  however,  was  not  sufficient  to  teach  the 
anti-foreign  element  the  futility  of  attempting  to  rid 
their  country  of  the  intruders.  Numerous  acts  of  vio- 
lence occurred  in  1863,  among  which  was  the  burning 
of  the  American  legation  in  Yedo.  Hon.  R.  H.  Pruyn, 
of  New  York,  had  succeeded  Mr.  Harris  in  1862, 

^ A Japanese  statesman,  writing  sixteen  years  after  this  event,  says  : 
“ There  were  many  cases  where  fatal  collisions  were  purposely  provoked 
by  foreigners,  the  results  of  which  were  no  more  a matter  of  satisfaction 
to  us  than  of  regret.  Such  was  the  case  of  Richardson,  the  Englishman, 
who  willfully  tried  to  ride  through  the  train  of  the  state  procession  of 
the  prince  of  Satsuma,  and  was  killed  by  a retainer  of  the  prince,  an  act 
which,  at  that  time  of  feudalism,  was  entirely  justifiable,  because  such 
discourtesy  to  a princely  retinue  was  deemed  an  unpardonable  outrage.” 
Matsuyama  Makoto,  N,  A.  Rev.  Nov.  1878,  p.  412. 


190 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


and  assumed  his  duties  in  the  height  of  the  agitation 
against  foreigners.  When  his  legation  was  burned,  he 
took  up  his  residence  in  another  house  and  refused  to 
leave  the  capital,  although  his  European  colleagues  had 
withdrawn  to  Yokohama,  where  they  were  under  the 
protection  of  their  men-of-war.  Finally  the  govern- 
ment informed  him  that  it  could  no  longer  protect  him, 
and  he  was  escorted  by  a large  armed  force  to  a Japa- 
nese steamer  and  taken  to  Yokohama.  He  secured 
from  the  Shogunate  a payment  of  $10,000  to  the 
mother  of  Mr.  Heusken,  the  murdered  secretary  of 
legation ; also  $10,000  for  losses  on  account  of  the 
burning  of  the  legation ; and  various  other  sums  for 
injuries  suffered  by  American  citizens  and  vessels.  He, 
however,  sought  to  exercise  the  utmost  moderation  in 
his  attitude  towards  the  government,  and  carried  his 
friendly  spirit  so  far  as  to  awaken  the  suspicion  of  the 
British  and  some  other  ministers  of  his  complicity  with 
the  Japanese.^ 

The  Mikado’s  party  had  become  so  strong  as  to  lead 
the  Shogun  to  obey  the  summons  to  Kioto  to  confer 
with  the  emperor,  a visit  which  was  without  precedent 
in  the  past  three  centuries.  From  Kioto  the  Shogun 
issued  an  order,  which  was  delivered  to  the  ’ foreign 
representatives,  to  the  effect  that  the  ports  are  to  be 
closed  and  the  foreigners  driven  out,  because  the  people 

1 U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1861,  1862,  1863,  subject,  “ Japan  ” ; Nitobe,  75  ; 
1 Reed’s  Japan,  255-267  ; Rein’s  Japan,  349  ; Alcock,  vol.  1,  chaps,  xi., 
xiv.,  xvi.,  xvii.,  vol.  2,  chaps,  ii.,  iii.,  viii.  ; Griffis’s  Mikado,  591  ; 1 Adams’s 
History  of  Japan,  138,  etc.  ; The  Story  of  Japan,  by  David  Murray,  New 
York,  1894,  p.  344.  For  Prince  Ii,  The  Life  of  Ii  Naosuki,  by  Shimada 
Saburo,  Tokio,  1888. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


191 


do  not  desire  intercourse  with  the  foreign  countries.” 
To  this  order  Mr.  Pruyn  replied  that  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  had  the  right  of  residence  and  trade 
granted  by  treaty.  “ The  right  thus  acquired  will  not 
be  surrendered  and  cannot  be  withdrawn.  Even  to 
propose  such  a measure  is  an  insult  to  my  country,  and 
equivalent  to  a declaration  of  war.  . . . The  determi- 
nation of  the  Mikado  and  Tycoon,  if  attempted  to  be 
carried  into  effect,  must  involve  Japan  in  a Wiir  with 
all  the  treaty  powers.” 

During  the  difficulties  with  which  the  Shogunate  had 
been  surrounded  on  account  of  the  treaties,  the  action 
of  Mr.  Pruyn,  in  contrast  with  the  attitude  of  the 
British  and  French  ministers,  had  been  of  a concilia- 
tory and  forbearing  character.  Hence  the  Japanese 
souofht  to  detach  him  from  concerted  action  with  the 
European  powers,  but  he  refused  to  Ksten  to  the  sug- 
gestions. The  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Seward,  approved 
his  conduct,  and  wrote : You  will  represent  to  the 

minister  of  foreign  affairs  that  it  is  not  at  all  to  be 
expected  that  any  one  of  the  maritime  powers  will 
consent  to  the  suspension  of  their  treaties,  and  that 
the  United  States  will  cooperate  with  them  in  all  neces- 
sary means  to  maintain  and  secure  the  fulfillment  of 
the  treaties  on  the  part  of  the  Japanese  government.” 
This  action  of  the  government  of  the  United  States 
constitutes  an  exception  to  its  general  pohcy  of  avoid- 
ing cooperation  with  European  powers,  but  the  con- 
dition of  affairs  in  the  East  and  the  community  of 
interest  of  the  treaty  powers  made  such  action  to  a 
certain  extent  desirable,  if  not  necessary. 


192  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Strengthened  by  the  instruction  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  and  taking  advantage  of  his  friendly  relations 
with  the  Shogunate,  Mr.  Pruyn  induced  the  ministers 
of  foreign  affairs  to  recall  their  letter  ordering  the 
closing  of  the  ports  and  the  withdrawal  of  the  for- 
eigners. It  is  highly  probable  that  the  Shogun’s 
action  in  issuing  the  order  of  the  Mikado  was  merely 
perfunctory,  and  that  his  government  never  expected 
to  attempt  its  enforcement,  knowing  fuU  well  that  it 
would  not  be  obeyed  by  the  foreigners.  Envoys  had 
been  sent  by  it  to  the  governments  of  Europe  asking 
for  the  suspension  of  the  treaties  and  the  postponement 
of  the  opening  of  the  new  ports,  but  they  failed  in 
their  purpose,  and  it  was  apparent  to  well-informed 
Japanese  that  the  country  would  not  be  permitted  to 
take  a backward  step.  Upon  the  withdrawal  of  the 
notice  for  the  expulsion  of  foreigners,  the  representa- 
tives of  the  treaty  powers,  recognizing  the  embarrass- 
ments which  surrounded  the  Japanese  government,  con- 
sented to  the  postponement  of  the  time  for  the  opening 
of  the  new  ports  of  Yedo,  Hiogo,  and  others.^ 

Concurrently  with  these  negotiations  an  event  oc- 
curred which  hastened  the  adjustment  of  the  internal 
troubles  of  Japan  and  a definite  settlement  of  its  for- 
eign relations.  The  prince  of  Choshiu,  a powerful 
anti-foreign  daimio  who  was  in  open  rebellion  to  the 
Shogun,  had  sought  to  close  the  strait  of  Shimonoseki, 
which  connected  the  Inland  Sea  of  Japan  vdth  the 

1 U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1863,  1864,  subject  “ Japan  ” ; Nitobe,  78  ; 1 Reed’s 
Japan,  263  ; History  of  Japan,  by  Kinse  Shiriaku,  translation,  Yokohama, 
1873,  p.  30. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


193 


Chinese  waters  and  was  regarded  by  the  maritime 
nations  as  an  ocean  highway.  The  prince  had  fortified 
the  narrow  passage  which  intersected  his  territory  and 
guarded  it  with  armed  vessels.  An  American  merchant . 
vessel  passing  through  the  strait  was  fired  upon,  and, 
later,  ships  of  other  nationalities  were  similarly  treated. 
When  the  news  reached  Yokohama,  the  United  States 
naval  steamer  Wyoming  was  in  the  harbor,  an^,  upon 
consultation  with  Mr.  Pruyn  and  at  his  request,  she 
proceeded  to  Shimonoseki,  and  on  entering  the  strait 
was  fired  upon  by  the  vessels  and  batteries.  She 
returned  the  fire,  sinking  one  of  the  vessels  and  badly 
damaging  the  other  two.  She  passed  through  the 
strait  and  returned,  engaging  the  batteries,  with  the 
loss  of  four  men  killed  and  seven  wounded. 

About  the  same  time  French  and  Dutch  naval  vessels 
had  a similar  experience.  As  a result  of  these  attacks, 
a meeting  of  the  representatives  of  the  treaty  powers 
was  held  at  Yokohama,  at  which  it  was  decided  to  or- 
ganize and  dispatch  an  expedition  to  open  the  strait,  if 
it  was  not  done  by  Japan  within  twenty  days.  The 
Shogun  being  powerless  in  the  matter,  the  expedition 
sailed.  It  consisted  of  nine  British  ships  of  war,  four 
Dutch,  three  French,  and  one  United  States  chartered 
steamer,  the  Jamestown,  U.  S.  N.,  being  detailed  to 
protect  Yokohama.  The  latter  was  the  only  man-of-war 
in  Japanese  waters,  the  civil  war  in  the  United  States 
requiring  all  other  of  its  naval  vessels  elsewhere.  The 
attack  upon  the  daimio’s  forts  and  vessels  began  Sep- 
tember 5,  1863,  and  continued  until  the  8th,  when  he, 
defeated  at  every  point,  made  an  unconditional  submis- 


194 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


sion,  and  thenceforward  the  strait  was  open  and  free  to 
the  commerce  of  the  world.  - 

The  attack  was  followed  by  a demand  on  the  Sho- 
gunate  by  the  ministers  of  the  four  participating  powers 
for  an  indemnity,  which  was  fixed  at  $3,000,000,  and 
after  some  delay  and  great  embarrassment,  because  of 
the  poverty  of  the  treasury,  it  was  paid.  An  equal  share 
of  the  indemnity  was  allotted  to  each  nation,  although 
Great  Britain  had  furnished  the  greater  portion  of  the 
armament.  The  exaction  of  the  indemnity  under  the 
circumstances  has  been  the  subject  of  much  adverse 
criticism.  The  attempt  to  close  the  port  was  in  viola- 
tion of  international  law ; but  it  was  not  the  act  of  the 
government  with  which  the  powers  had  relations,  and 
it  claimed  that,  if  time  was  afforded,  it  would  bring 
about  the  removal  of  the  obstruction.  The  sum  paid 
to  the  United  States  remained  in  the  treasury  unused 
for  twenty  years.  The  public  conscience  was  troubled 
as  to  the  justness  of  the  exaction,  and  in  1883  by  an 
act  of  Congress  the  amount  received  was  returned  to 
Japan,  and  accepted  by  that  government  as  a strong 
manifestation  of  that  spirit  of  justice  and  equity  which 
has  always  animated  the  United  States  in  its  relations 
with  Japan.’’  None  of  the  other  three  nations  par- 
taking of  the  indemnity  have  seen  fit  to  follow  this 
example.^ 

An  incident  connected  with  the  Shimonoseki  affair 
occurred  which  was  not  without  influence  on  the  later 
history  of  Japan.  The  year  before,  two  youths,  mem- 

1 U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1863-4,  “ Japan  ” ; 22  Statutes  at  L.  421;  U.  S.  For. 
Rel.  1883,  p.  606  ; GrifBs’s  Mikado,  693. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


195 


bers  of  the  Choshiu  clan,  had  escaped  from  the  country 
through  Yokohama,  notwithstanding  the  death  penalty 
for  such  an  act.  Being  inspired  with  the  foreign-hating 
spirit  of  their  prince,  they  went  abroad  for  the  purpose 
of  learning  what  it  was  that  made  the  Western  nations 
formidable,  in  order  that  they  might  return  and  make 
use  of  their  knowledge  against  the  intruder.  They 
made  their  way  to  London  as  common  sailors,  a^nd  there 
heard  of  the  resolution  of  the  Mikado  to  expel  the  bar- 
barians, and  of  the  war  which  threatened  their  country 
as  a consequence.  Their  patriotic  fervor  led  them  to 
return.  They  reached  Shimonoseki  just  at  the  time  of 
the  attack  of  the  foreign  squadrons,  and  acted  as  inter- 
preters to  their  prince  in  the  peace  negotiations.  As 
Marquis  Ito  and  Count  Inouye  they  are  known  among 
the  public  men  of  the  New  Japan  ’’  as  having  borne 
an  honorable  and  conspicuous  part  in  its  regeneration. 

The  effect  of  the  severe  lessons  taught  the  powerful 
daimios  of  Satsuma  and  Choshiu  by  the  foreign  fleets 
was  to  convince  them  of  the  folly  of  continuing  further 
their  opposition  to  the  barbarians,  and  that  it  would  be 
the  wiser  policy  for  their  country  to  avail  itself  of  the 
influences  and  methods  which  had  made  the  Western 
nations  so  powerful.  These  lessons  were  not  without 
their  effect  also  upon  other  of  the  Mikado’s  supporters, 
and  the  court  of  Kioto,  while  it  continued  its  efforts  to 
destroy  the  power  of  the  Shogun,  relaxed  its  opposition 
to  the  treaties  and  to  foreign  residence  and  commerce. 
The  first  important  manifestation  in  this  direction  was 
the  sanction  by  the  Mikado  of  the  treaties  which  the 
Shogun  had  made  with  the  powers. 


196 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


When  Commodore  Perry  negotiated  his  treaty  in 
1854,  he  supposed  that  he  was  holding  relations  with 
the  government  of  the  emperor  of  Japan.  He  died 
without  knowing  his  error.  The  treaties  negotiated 
with  the  European  powers  succeeding  that  of  Perry 
were  signed  by  their  representatives  under  the  same 
delusion.  The  real  conditions  of  the  Japanese  system 
of  government  had  been  fully  set  forth  several  years 
before  in  publications  at  Canton/  but  do  not  seem  to 
have  been  brought  to  the  attention  of  Perry  and  those 
who  immediately  followed  him.  It  has  been  seen  that 
the  true  relation  between  the  Shogun  and  the  Mikado 
began  to  dawn  upon  Harris  in  the  midst  of  the  tor- 
tuous negotiations  in  which  he  was  involved,  and  soon 
thereafter  they  were  fully  understood.  It  is  to  be 
noted,  however,  that  no  other  course  was  open  to  those 
early  negotiators  than  the  one  pursued  by  them.  The 
Shogun  had  in  his  hands  the  executive  functions  of 
government,  and  at  the  time  the  Mikado  did  not  pos- 
sess even  the  semblance  of  power.  . 

Mr.  Pruyn,  both  separately  and  in  conjunction  with 
his  European  colleagues,  had  repeatedly  urged  upon  the 
Shogunate  that  it  should  obtain  from  the  Mikado  his 
approval  of  the  treaties.  In  1865  the  Shogun  and  his 
ministers  had  taken  up  their  temporary  residence  at 
Osaka,  in  order  to  be  near  the  Mikado,  and  from  that 
place  they  reported  to  the  representatives  of  the  foreign 
powers  at  Yokohama  that  the  two  heads  of  government 
were  in  friendly  accord,  and  that  the  Shogun  expected 

1 2 Chinese  Repository  (1833),  p.  319;  9 Ib.  (1840),  p.  500;  10  Ib. 
(1841),  p.  10. 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


197 


soon  to  go  to  Kioto  and  obtain  the  Mikado’s  sanction 
of  the  treaties.  Finally  the  diplomats,  wearied  with 
the  delay,  decided  to  go  to  Osaka  in  a body  and  bring 
about  the  much  desired  result.  They  were  escorted  by 
a squadron  of  nine  men-of-war  of  different  nationalities, 
and  in  a short  time  after  their  arrival  the  Mikado’s  order 
was  published  (November  24, 1865),  and  sent  to  all  the 
daimios,  giving  ‘‘  imperial  consent  to  the  treaties.” 

The  value  of  such  action  was  that  thereafter  opposi- 
tion to  the  treaties  and  to  foreigners  would  be  a viola- 
tion of  the  emperor’s  edict.  Up  to  that  time  opposition 
to  them  had  been  evidence  of  loyalty  to  the  Mikado. 
The  result  was  a marked  improvement  in  the  attitude 
of  the  people  towards  the  foreign  residents,  although 
attacks  upon  them  by  lawless  persons  did  not  entirely 
cease.  The  American  legation  was  again  established  at 
Yedo,  where  it  has  since  continued  undisturbed.  Mr. 
Pruyn,  who  had  served  his  country  as  minister  through 
four  years  of  very  trying  experience,  with  much  useful- 
ness to  the  government  and  credit  to  himself,  resigned, 
and  was  succeeded  in  1866  by  R.  B.  Van  Valkenburgh. 

During  this  year  another  evidence  of  the  liberal  ten- 
dency of  the  Mikado’s  government  was  the  repeal  of 
the  decree,  which  had  been  in  force  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  prohibiting  the  Japanese  from  leaving 
their  country.  In  transmitting  notice  of  this  repeal  to 
his  government,  the  American  minister  says,  Another 
barrier  of  Japanese  isolation  has  thus  been  removed.” 

It  does  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  this  volume  to 
trace  the  internal  contest  which  resulted  in  the  trans- 
formation of  the  system  of  government  of  Japan.  It 


198  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

became  apparent  from  the  civil  war  in  progress  and 
the  attitude  of  the  treaty  powers  that  the  welfare  of  the 
country  demanded  the  restoration  of  full  power  to  the 
Mikado.  One  of  the  leading  supporters  of  the  Sho- 
gun, reflecting  the  sentiments  of  many  of  the  daimios 
of  his  party,  addressed  an  appeal  to  his  chief,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  said  : The  march  of  events  has 

brought  about  a revolution,  and  the  old  system  can  no 
longer  be  obstinately  persevered  in.  You  should  restore 
the  governing  power  into  the  hands  of  the  sovereign, 
and  so  lay  the  foundation  on  which  Japan  may  take  its 
stand  as  the  equal  of  all  other  countries.  This  is  the 
imperative  duty  of  the  present  moment,  and  is  the  heart- 
felt prayer  of  Yodo.” 

Impressed  with  the  wisdom  of  the  course  indicated  in 
this  appeal,  the  Shogun  addressed  a manifesto  to  his 
adherents,  in  which  he  stated  that  It  appears  to  me 
the  laws  cannot  be  maintained  in  the  face  of  the  daily 
extension  of  our  foreign  relations,  unless  the  govern- 
ment is  conducted  by  one  head,  and  I purpose  there- 
fore to  surrender  the  whole  governing  power  into  the 
hands  of  the  Imperial  Court.’’  This  was  followed  by 
the  formal  tender  of  his  resignation,  which  was  accepted 
by  the  Mikado.  Many  of  his  followers,  however,  re- 
fused to  acquiesce  in  the  transfer  of  the  executive  power, 
and  the  civil  war  continued  for  a time ; but  the  Mikado 
was  in  the  end  completely  triumphant. 

The  recognition  of  the  Mikado  as  emperor  was  soon 
followed  by  an  audience  granted  by  him  to  the  foreign 
diplomatic  representatives,  and  later  by  the  transfer  of 
the  seat  of  government  to  Yedo,  which  thenceforward 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


199 


was  given  the  name  of  Tokio,  meaning  the  eastern 
capital/’  During  the  civil  war  the  Mikado,  who  had 
so  strongly  opposed  the  treaties  and  foreigners,  died, 
and  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Mutsuhito,  a youth  of 
fifteen  years,  who  is  still  the  reigning  sovereign.  After 
the  resignation  of  the  Shogun  and  the  restoration  of 
peace,  the  emperor  in  1869  took  what  is  sometimes 
called  the  charter  oath,”  promising  to  give  his  people 
a deliberative  assembly,  to  rule  justly,  and  seek  for 
wisdom  in  all  quarters  of  the  world.” 

In  the  same  year  an  event  occurred  which  is  without 
precedent  in  the  history  of  nations,  and  which  is  the 
highest  testimonial  of  the  patriotism  of  the  public  men 
of  Japan.  For  ages  there  had  existed  in  the  country  a 
feudal  system  of  the  most  rigid  character.  The  princes, 
or  daimios,  were  the  supreme  rulers  in  their  respective 
provinces,  the  lords  of  the  domain,  and  entitled  to  the 
unreserved  service  of  their  retainers  and  the  people. 
The  most  intelhgent  and  thoughtful  of  the  daimios  saw 
that  the  emperor,  to  be  all  that  the  name  implied  and  in 
a position  to  rank  with  the  rulers  of  the  W estern  world, 
must  be  possessed  with  the  powers  which  the  princes 
then  enjoyed.  Hence  they  brought  about  a voluntary 
surrender  to  the  emperor  by  all  the  feudal  lords  of  their 
titles,  rank,  lands,  and  revenues,  and  thus  enabled  the 
government  to  be  thoroughly  reorganized  under  the 
modern  system  of  nations.^ 

An  interesting  fact  connected  with  Christianity  was 
brought  to  light  by  the  civil  commotions  and  the 

^ U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1867—1869,  “Japan”  ; Kinse’s  History,  chaps,  ii.  and 
iii.  ; Adams’s  History  of  Japan  ; Rein’s  Japan,  355-375. 


200 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


opening  of  the  country  to  foreigners.  It  appeared  that, 
notwithstanding  the  severe  measures  which  had  been 
adopted  in  the  seventeenth  century  for  the  suppression 
of  the  ‘‘  evil  sect,”  a considerable  body  of  native  Chris- 
tians — numbering  several  thousand  — had  secretly 
kept  their  faith,  and  the  changed  condition  of  the 
country  emboldened  them  to  make  themselves  known. 
This  awakened  the  hostility  of  the  government,  and  a 
proclamation  was  issued  by  the  emperor  reviving  the 
ancient  prohibitive  decrees.  The  matter  came  to  the 
notice  of  the  American  minister.  He  convoked  his 
colleagues,  and  an  identic  note  of  protest  was  agreed 
upon  and  sent  to  the  Japanese  government. 

On  receipt  of  the  proclamation  by  Secretary  Seward, 
he  replied  to  Mr.  Van  Valkenburgh  that  the  President 
regards  the  proclamation  as  not  merely  ill-judged,  but 
as  injurious  and  offensive  to  the  United  States  and  to 
all  other  Christian  states,  and  as  directly  conflicting 
with  the  eighth  article  of  the  treaty  of  1858,  and  no 
less  in  conflict  with  the  tolerating  spirit  and  principles 
which  prevail  throughout  the  world.  You  are  advised, 
therefore,  that  the  United  States  cannot  acquiesce  in  or 
submit  to  the  Mikado’s  proclamation.”  The  minister 
was  instructed  to  bring  the  matter  quietly  and  in  a 
friendly  manner  to  the  attention  of  the  Japanese  gov- 
ernment, in  view  of  the  civil  disturbances,  but  to 
proceed  with  firmness  and  without  practicing  inju- 
rious hesitation  or  accepting  any  abasing  compromise.” 
The  other  treaty  powers  adopted  the  same  course, 
but  not  until  after  much  discussion  and  delay  on  the 
part  of  the  Japanese  government  did  the  persecution 


THE  TRANSFORMATION  OF  JAPAN 


201 


cease  and  were  all  the  prohibitions  against  Christianity 
revoked.^ 

The  overthrow  of  the  Shogun,  the  assumption  of  full 
power  by  the  Mikado,  thenceforth  known  only  as 
Emperor,  the  abolition  of  feudahsm,  the  removal  of  the 
capital  to  Tokio  (Yedo),  and  the  establishment  of  un- 
qualified diplomatic  relations  with  the  Western  coun- 
tries, secured  for  Japan  a recognized  place  among  the 
powers  of  the  world;  but  it  had  a long  and  weary 
journey  to  travel  before  it  could  take  its  place  as  an 
equal  in  the  family  of  nations.  After  much  hesitation 
and  civil  commotion,  it  had  turned  its  back  upon  the 
past,  but  there  was  before  it  the  task  of  reorganizing 
the  administration  of  government,  the  judiciary,  the 
social  system,  and  commerce.  A generation  was  yet 
to  pass  before  the  reorganization  was  to  be  complete 
in  the  estimation  of  the  foreign  powers. 

True  to  his  charter  oath,”  the  emperor  was  to  seek 
for  wisdom  in  all  quarters  of  the  world.  The  leading 
nations  of  the  earth  were  to  have  their  share  in  advan- 
cing or  retarding  the  development  of  the  country,  and 
in  enabling  it  to  attain  the  goal  of  the  patriotic  am- 
bition of  its  people.  The  United  States  had  been  fore- 
most in  leading  Japan  out  of  its  seclusion.  The  part 
which  it  was  to  play  in  the  development  of  the  new 
order  of  affairs  will  form  the  subject  of  a later  chapter. 

What  the  country  had  abeady  accomplished  com- 
manded the  respect  of  mankind.  The  people  of  the 
Western  world  especially  were  prepared  to  welcome  the 

1 U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1867,  pp.  56,  63 ; 1868,  pp.  749,  757,  796  ; 1870, 
453-486  ; Murray’s  Japan,  379. 


202  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

dawning  of  a new  era  in  the  East.  A sympathetic 
response  was  made  to  the  motto  which  the  Japanese 
inscribed  over  their  exhibit  at  the  Centennial  Exposi- 
tion in  Philadelphia  in  1876  : — 

In  the  ancient  Yamato  Island,  the  sun  rises  : 

Must  not  even  the  foreigner  reverence  ? 


VII 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 

Relying  upon  the  effect  of  the  British  war  and  the 
advantages  secured  by  the  treaties  of  China  of  1842 
and  1844  with  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and 
France,  the  Western  nations  looked  hopefully  forward 
to  an  era  of  friendly  intercourse  with  the  imperial 
government  and  one  of  great  commercial  prosperity. 
But  they  were  destined  to  serious  disappointment. 
Notwithstanding  past  experience  they  had  failed  to 
estimate  properly  the  conservatism  and  arrogance  of 
the  Chinese. 

Supported  by  a continuous  history  of  several  thou- 
sands of  years,  during  which  they  had  developed  a high 
state  of  civilization,  the  Chinese  felt  that  they  had 
nothing  to  learn  from  the  barbarian  nations.  Their 
recent  intercourse  with  them  led  to  the  belief  that 
the  latter  were  influenced  by  mercenary  and  hostile 
motives,  and  that  an  increase  of  this  intercourse  would 
bring  only  evil  results  for  their  nation.  They  regarded 
theirs  as  the  Middle  Kingdom  and  all  the  outlying 
nations  of  the  world  as  vassal  and  tributary  to  their 
celestial  emperor.  Although  the  superior  military 
power  of  the  Western  nations  had  been  demonstrated 
at  Canton  and  a few  other  places  on  the  coast,  it  had 
hardly  pierced  the  outer  rim  of  the  vast  empire,  and 


204 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  court  at  Peking  was  totally  ignorant  of  the  strength 
and  progress  of  the  outside  world.  Intrenched  in  the 
conviction  of  their  intellectual  and  material  superiority, 
the  Chinese  were  still  resolved  to  hold  as  little  inter- 
course as  possible  with  the  treaty  powers,  and  to 
interpret  strictly  in  their  favor  the  conventions  which 
had  been  forced  upon  them. 

Mr.  Davis,  who  was  the  United  States  representative 
from  1848  to  1850,  was  mainly  occupied  with  install- 
ing the  consular  officers  at  the  treaty  ports  with  the 
judicial  functions  with  which  they  were  clothed  by  the 
treaty  of  1844,  growing  out  of  their  exterritorial  juris- 
diction. His  reports  upon  the  subject  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  were  made  the  basis  of  the  peculiar 
legislation  of  Congress  respecting  the  judicial  powers 
of  consuls,  which  with  subsequent  amendments  has 
continued  to  the  present  time. 

The  most  noted  event  of  his  mission  was  an  inter- 
view held  with  the  imperial  commissioner,  which  was 
the  only  one  since  the  treaty  of  1844,  and  it  proved  to 
be  the  last  had  by  an  American  representative  with 
the  resident  Canton  high  commissioner.  In  place  of 
being  held  at  the  yamen  or  official  residence  of  the 
commissioner  in  Canton  or  on  board  a man-of-war  of 
the  United  States,  as  official  etiquette  required,  it  took 
place  at  a commercial  warehouse  in  the  suburbs  of  Can- 
ton. There  was  present  at  that  interview  as  a subor- 
dinate official  the  afterwards  celebrated  Yeh,  who  bore 
such  a conspicuous  part  in  the  troubles  which  led  to 
the  second  British  war. 

Mr.  Davis  had  been  selected  for  the  post  because  of 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA  205 

his  prominence  in  domestic  politics,  having  been  a 
member  of  Congress  for  several  years  and  speaker  of 
the  House.  The  concurrent  testimony  of  contempo- 
rary writers  is  that  he  discharged  his  duties  modestly 
and  well,  and  left  a reputation  for  intelligence,  discre- 
tion, and  devotion  to  duty.  Upon  the  resignation  of 
Mr.  Davis,  Dr.  Parker,  the  secretary  of  legation,  became 
charge  d’affaires.^ 

In  1852  Humphrey  Marshall,  of  Kentucky,  was  com- 
missioned and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  minister. 
The  chief  business  which  occupied  his  attention  was  in 
seeking  to  secure  an  interview  with  Yeh,  who  had  been 
designated  as  high  commissioner  to  transact  affairs  at 
Canton  with  the  representatives  of  foreign  govern- 
ments. In  answer  to  a request  from  Marshall  for  an 
interview,  to  place  in  his  hands  a letter  from  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  for  transmission  to  the  em- 
peror, Yeh  responded  that  he  was  too  busy  at  that  time 
to  meet  him,  but  that  as  soon  as  his  pressing  engage- 
ments would  allow  he  would  select  a felicitous  day  ” 
on  which  to  hold  with  the  minister  a pleasant  inter- 
view.” 

Mr.  Marshall  was  quite  indignant  at  the  tone  of 
Yeh’s  letter.  He  wrote  the  Secretary  of  State  that 
“ there  was  no  probability  that  the  ^ felicitous  day  ’ 
will  ever  arrive  ; ” that  the  French  minister  had  been 
waiting  at  Macao  fifteen  months  for  a personal  inter- 
view ; and  that  he  as  the  representative  of  the  United 

^ MSS.  Department  of  State,  “ China,”  1848-50  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  22,  35th 
Cong.  2d  Sess.  p.  299  ; N.  A.  Review,  Oct.  1859,  p.  482  ; Littell’s  Living 
Age,  Oct.  1858,  p.  384. 


206 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


States  was  not  only  excluded  from  the  imperial  court 
at  Peking,  but,  practically,  from  personal  intercourse 
with  the  high  commissioner  at  Canton.  He  decided  to 
go  to  Shanghai  and  secure,  if  possible,  the  transmittal 
of  the  President’s  letter  through  E-liang,  the  viceroy  of 
that  province,  and,  failing  in  that,  to  proceed  to  Tien- 
tsin in  a man-of-war  and  demand  an  audience  of  the 
emperor  from  that  point. 

After  some  delay  he  was  courteously  received  by 
E-liang,  who  undertook  to  send  the  President’s  letter 
to  the  emperor,  but  who  said  he  was  not  authorized  to 
transact  business  with  him.  In  due  course  a reply 
came  from  the  emperor,  not  in  the  form  of  a letter  to 
the  President,  as  courtesy  required,  but  in  a communi- 
cation to  the  viceroy.  The  receipt  of  the  President’s 
letter  was  acknowledged,  and  the  minister  was  informed 
that  it  was  not  necessary  for  him  to  come  to  Peking, 
as  Commissioner  Yeh  was  fully  empowered  to  dispatch 
all  public  business  with  him.  This  reply  made  him  the 
more  desirous  to  proceed  to  the  Peiho. 

But  another  obstacle  stood  in  the  way  of  the  execu- 
tion of  this  plan  ; the  commander  of  the  American 
squadron  on  the  Asiatic  station  seemed  unvilling  to 
support  him.  Commodore  Aulick  had  not  found  it 
convenient  to  furnish  Marshall  with  a naval  vessel 
to  transport  him  to  Shanghai  at  the  time  desired,  and 
when  Commodore  Perry,  who  succeeded  Aulick,  arrived 
at  that  place,  he  declined  to  yield  to  the  minister’s 
request  for  a ship  to  bear  him  to  the  Peilio,  whence  he 
proposed  to  make  a demand  backed  by  the  presence  of 
the  man-of-war  for  an  audience  of  his  imperial  majesty 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


207 


at  Peking.  Perry  had  nearest  at  heart  his  mission  to 
Japan,  and  besides  he  gave  Marshall  plainly  to  under- 
stand that  he  regarded  the  latter’s  scheme  of  a demon- 
stration at  the  Peiho  as  chimerical  and  unwise. 

This  expression  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  com- 
modore led  Marshall  to  suggest  ironically  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  the  propriety  of  managing  diplomatic 
relations  with  foreign  countries  through  the  instru- 
mentality alone  of  the  commodores  of  the  navy,  whose 
education  and  habits  fit  them  peculiarly  for  the  dis- 
cussion of  questions  of  international  law  ! ” He  also 
had  his  retort  for  the  commodore’s  opinion  of  his  Peiho 
project  by  referring  to  ^^the  shadowy  future  which 
may  be  enveloped  within  ^ the  peaceful  expedition  ’ to 
Japan.”  Subsequent  events,  however,  established  the 
correctness  of  the  naval  diplomat’s  judgment  in  both 
matters. 

The  subject  of  the  proper  relation  between  the  dip- 
lomatic and  naval  officials  of  the  government  has  been 
much  discussed  and  has  occasioned  many  unpleasant 
incidents  not  only  in  the  service  of  the  United  States, 
but  in  that  of  Great  Britain  and  other  powers.  Mr. 
Marshall’s  altercations  with  Auhck  and  Perry  led  to 
the  issuance  of  specific  instructions  on  the  subject  by 
the  Department  of  State.  Secretary  Marcy,  in  writing 
to  Mr.  McLane,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Marshall  in  the 
Chinese  mission,  furnished  him  with  a copy  of  the  in- 
structions given  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  Com- 
modore Perry,  in  which  the  latter  was  directed  to 
render  the  minister  such  assistance  as  the  exigencies 
of  the  public  interest  might  require.  But,  he  added, 


208 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  President  does  not  propose  to  subject  him  to  your 
control,  but  he  expects  that  you  and  he  will  cooperate 
together  whenever,  in  the  judgment  of  both,  the  in- 
terests of  the  United  States  indicate  the  necessity  or  the 
advantage  of  such  cooperation.”  This  in  substance  has 
been  embodied  in  the  instructions  to  diplomatic  and 
naval  officers,  and  this  well-defined  relation  has  in  re- 
cent years  prevented  trouble  and  misunderstanding. 

Mr.  Marshall  spent  some  time  at  Shanghai,  where  he 
found  abundant  occupation  in  the  commercial  troubles 
growing  out  of  what  is  known  as  the  Taiping  Kebel- 
lion,  in  restraining  Americans  from  taking  part  in  it  by 
rendering  personal  service  or  material  aid  to  one  or  the 
other  of  the  belligerents,  and  in  repressing  the  lawless- 
ness of  deserting  American  seamen  and  adventurers. 
During  his  mission  this  revolt  against  the  imperial 
government  reached  its  highest  point.  Beginning  in 
1850,  it  had  by  1853  swept  over  and  occupied  the 
provinces  south  of  the  Yang-tse-Kiang,  except  the 
open  ports,  had  captured  the  Chinese  city  of  Shanghai 
and  the  ancient  capital  Nankin,  had  crossed  the  great 
river,  was  threatening  Tientsin,  and  even  Peking  was 
in  danger  of  falling  into  rebel  hands.  It  constitutes 
one  of  the  most  extensive,  bloody,  and  curious  insur- 
rections in  the  annals  of  time.  It  threatened  the  ex- 
istence of  the  oldest  and  most  populous  empire  of  the 
world ; it  is  estimated  that  twenty  milHons  of  lives  were 
sacrificed  by  it;  and  it  had  its  origin  in  the  vagaries  of 
a dreaming  enthusiast  who  claimed  to  base  his  move- 
ment upon  the  principles  of  Christianity. 

A narrative  of  its  events  does  not  fall  within  the 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


209 


province  of  this  work,  but  it  had  such  relations  to  Ameri- 
can citizens  and  their  interests,  and  engaged  to  such  an 
extent  the  attention  of  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States,  that  it  cannot  be  passed  over  without  some  notice. 
The  leader  of  the  rebellion,  when  a young  man  attend- 
ing the  literary  examinations  at  Canton,  had  had  his 
attention  attracted  to  Christianity  by  the  preaching  and 
tract  circulation  of  native  Protestant  converts.  Some 
years  later  he  put  himself  under  the  instruction  of  Rev. 
J.  J.  Roberts,  an  American  Baptist  missionary,  at  whose 
hands  he  sought  baptism  and  admission  into  the  church, 
which  were  refused.  He  returned  to  his  native  village 
and  claimed  that  he  had  visions  and  revelations  from 
heaven  and  that  he  was  the  younger  brother  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

He  proclaimed  a mission  to  destroy  idolatry  and  over- 
throw the  Manchu  dynasty.  The  country  seemed  ripe 
for  revolt,  and  unexpected  success  attended  the  early 
movements  against  the  local  authorities.  Success 
brought  adherents  from  the  disaffected  and  the  lawless, 
and  within  three  years  more  than  half  of  the  populous 
part  of  the  empire  was  in  control  of  the  revolutionists, 
and  the  dynasty  seemed  doomed  to  destruction.  At 
first  the  missionaries  and  the  Christian  world  hailed  the 
movement  as  the  dawning  of  a new  and  better  era  for 
the  Chinese.  But  upon  further  information  it  became 
apparent  that  the  principles  proclaimed  and  the  prac- 
tices observed  were  a gross  travesty  of  Christianity,  and 
that  the  leader  and  his  chiefs  had  abandoned  themselves 
to  all  the  vice  and  licentiousness  of  an  oriental  court. 

After  the  fall  of  Nankin,  Mr.  Roberts  was  invited  by 


210  AJVIERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

the  chief  to  come  to  his  court  and  give  his  counsel  to 
the  new  government.  Minister  Marshall,  whom  he 
consulted,  told  him  that  it  was  hardly  consistent  with 
his  neutral  status  as  an  American  citizen  to  respond  to 
the  call.  Notwithstanding  this  advice,  Mr.  Roberts 
repaired  to  the  camp  of  the  insurgents  at  Nankin,  but 
a short  stay  convinced  him  that  they  were  not  controlled 
by  the  spirit  or  principles  of  Christianity.  The  leader 
had  so  surrounded  himself  with  the  august  ceremonials 
of  his  exalted  position  that  Mr.  Roberts  was  not  per- 
mitted to  see  him,  and  he  returned  to  his  post  of  duty  at 
Canton  disappointed  and  disgusted  with  the  movement. 

By  the  middle  of  the  year  1853  the  rebelhon  had 
assumed  such  proportions  as  to  warrant  the  assumption 
that  it  might  become  the  de  facto  government  of  the 
empire,  and  Mr.  Marshall’s  successor,  Mr.  McLane,  was 
authorized  in  his  discretion  to  recognize  it  as  such,  if  on 
his  arrival  the  situation  justified  such  a course.  Soon 
after  he  reached  Shanghai,  he  made  a visit  in  a naval 
vessel  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Taiping  leader  in  order 
to  study  personally  the  state  and  spirit  of  the  move- 
ment. After  some  difficulty  in  making  his  approach 
to  Nankin,  Mr.  McLane  was  able  to  communicate  his 
arrival  and  his  desire  to  meet  the  official  charged  with 
foreign  intercourse.  His  action  was  interpreted  as  an 
approach  to  do  homage  to  the  government  of  the  rebel- 
Hon,  and  the  minister  of  state  sent  him  a long  reply 
couched  in  a haughty  tone  of  superiority,  in  which  he 
said : — 

If  you  do  indeed  respect  Heaven  and  recognize  the 
Sovereign,  then  our  celestial  court,  viewing  all  under 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


211 


Heaven  as  one  family,  and  uniting  all  nations  as  one 
body,  will  most  assuredly  regard  your  faithful  pur- 
pose and  permit  you  year  by  year  to  bring  tribute  and 
annually  come  to  pay  court  to  the  Celestial  Kingdom, 
forever  bathing  yourself  in  the  gracious  streams  of  the 
celestial  dynasty,  peacefully  residing  in  your  own  lands, 
and  living  quietly  enjoying  great  glory.” 

The  comment  of  Mr.  McLane  upon  the  correspond- 
ence was  that,  Whatever  may  have  been  the  hopes 
of  the  enlightened  and  civilized  nations  of  the  earth,  in 
regard  to  this  movement,  it  is  now  apparent  that  they 
neither  profess  nor  apprehend  Christianity,  and  what- 
ever may  be  the  true  judgment  to  form  of  their  political 
power,  it  can  no  longer  be  doubted  that  intercourse  can- 
not be  established  or  maintained  on  terms  of  equality.” 
He  sent  the  Secretary  of  State  a full  account  of  his 
visit,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  most  interesting  con- 
tributions to  the  voluminous  literature  on  the  Taiping 
Rebellion. 

The  civil  war  was  maintained  with  varying  fortunes 
until  1864,  when  Nankin  was  recaptured  by  the  imperial 
forces  and  the  insurrection  suddenly  collapsed.  Dr. 
Martin,  who  was  a resident  of  the  country  during  the 
entire  movement,  says  that  it  would  have  succeeded 
but  for  the  foreign  intervention  in  favor  of  the  imperial 
cause.  The  American  government  and  its  representa- 
tives sought  to  maintain  an  attitude  of  strict  neutrality, 
but  the  sentiments  of  all  the  American  ministers  were 
on  the  side  of  the  established  government,  and  the 
French  and  English  authorities  at  a critical  period 
rendered  it  open  support.  Dr.  Martin  is  authority  for 


212 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  statement  that  after  the  occupation  of  Peking  in 
1860  by  the  allies,  the  emperor  having  fled  to  Tartary, 
Lord  Elgin,  the  British  representative,  thought  seriously 
of  opening  negotiations  with  the  insurgent  chief,  but 
was  deterred  by  the  opposition  of  Baron  Gros,  the 
French  envoy,  who,  adopting  the  views  of  the  French 
missionaries,  was  prejudiced  against  the  insurgents  be- 
cause their  religion  was  reported  to  be  of  a Protestant 
type.' 

Among  the  foreigners  who  lent  their  services  to  the 
imperial  cause  during  this  rebellion  was  an  American, 
General  Frederick  T.  Ward,  born  in  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts. He  organized,  equipped,  and  drilled  a body  of 
Chinese  troops,  officered  by  Americans  and  Europeans. 
His  successes  were  so  great  that  his  corps  became  known 
as  ^^The  Ever  Victorious  Army,”  and  its  influence  was 
decisive  in  changing  the  entire  aspect  of  the  contest. 
In  the  height  of  his  career  he  was  mortally  wounded 
while  leading  an  attack  upon  a Taiping  fortress.  His 
fame  has  been  somewhat  eclipsed  by  that  of  Colonel  Gor- 
don, of  the  British  army,  who  at  his  death  succeeded 
to  the  command  of  his  corps  and  carried  forward  to 

^ For  the  views  and  reports  of  American  ministers  — Marshall,  H.  Ex. 
Doc.  123,  33d  Cong.  1st  Sess.  pp.  142,  184,  203,  265 ; McLane,  S.  Ex. 
Doc.  22,  35th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  pp.  47-111  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  39,  36th  Cong.  1st 
Sess.  p.  3 ; The  Taiping  Rebellion,  by  A.  Egmont  Hake,  London,  1891 ; 
The  Chinese  Revolution,  by  Charles  Macfarlane,  London,  1853  ; LTnsur- 
rection  en  Chine,  Callery  & Yvan,  Paris,  1853,  translation,  London,  1853  ; 
Martin’s  Cycle  of  Cathay,  pt.  i.  chap.  ix.  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  chap. 
V.  ; A Short  History  of  China,  by  D.  C.  Boulger,  London,  1893,  chap. 
XX.  ; China,  by  R.  K.  Douglas,  London  and  New  York,  1899,  chap.  xi.  ; 
Nevius’s  China,  chap,  xxvi.;  N.  A.  Rev.  July,  1854,  p.  158. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


213 


ultimate  success  the  movement  which  had  been  organ- 
ized by  the  daring  and  skill  of  Ward.^ 

Eecurring  to  Minister  Marshall’s  services,  it  is  to  be 
noted  that  after  remaining  several  months  at  Shanghai, 
he  returned  to  Canton,  and  again  applied  to  Yeh  for  an 
interview,  was  again  met  by  an  excuse  and  a declina- 
tion, and  finally  left  China  without  once  having  met 
this  official  specially  designated  by  the  emperor  to  treat 
with  the  foreign  ministers.  When  in  January,  1854, 
he  announced  to  Yeh  his  intention  to  return  home,  the 
latter  replied  with  perfect  nonchalance,  ‘‘  I avail  myself 
of  the  occasion  to  present  my  compliments,  and  trust 
that,  of  late,  your  blessings  have  been  increasingly 
tranquil.” 

A party  change  in  the  administration  at  Washington 
brought  about  Mr.  Marshall’s  recall.  His  service  in 
China  covered  a period  of  great  interest  and  disorder 
in  that  empire,  and,  although  on  this  account  he  was 
unable  to  accomplish  much  to  advance  the  interests  of 
his  country,  he  conducted  its  affairs  with  ability  and 
credit  to  himself  and  his  government.  He  was  a ready 
and  able  writer,  and  his  voluminous  correspondence 
with  the  Department  of  State,  which  has  been  published, 
furnishes  very  interesting  and  profitable  reading  on 
Chinese  affairs.^ 

Upon  the  accession  of  Mr.  Pierce  to  the  presidency 
in  1853,  he  nominated  and  commissioned  as  minister  to 
China  Robert  M.  McLane,  of  Maryland,  who  was  one 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  34,  37th  Cong.  3d  Sess.  1,  3 ; Hake’s  Taiping  Rebellion, 
190  ; Martin’s  Cathay,  139. 

2 H.  Ex.  Doc.  123,  33d  Cong.  1st  Sess.  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  39,  36th  Cong.  1st 
Sess.  p.  3 ; N.  A,  Review,  Oct.  1869,  p.  483  ; Littell’s  Living  Age,  Oct. 
1858,  p.  384. 


214  AIVIERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

of  the  most  accomplished  diplomatic  representatives  of 
the  United  States  and  had  a long  public  career.  In 
order  that  he  might  not  be  subjected  to  the  embarrass- 
ments encountered  by  Mr.  Marshall,  the  naval  com- 
mander on  the  Asiatic  station  was  instructed  to  place 
a national  vessel  at  his  disposal,  and  in  such  other  ways 
as  was  possible  to  second  his  efforts. 

He  arrived  at  Hongkong  in  March,  1854,  where  he 
met  his  first  disappointment,  which  unfortunately  was 
only  the  beginning  of  a series  which  attended  him 
throughout  his  mission..  Anticipating  his  arrival.  Dr. 
Parker,  the  faithful  secretary  and  charge  of  the  legation 
at  Canton,  had  addressed  the  imperial  high  commis- 
sioner, Yeh,  informing  him  of  the  date  of  arrival  of 
the  new  minister,  and  stating  that  he  would  desire  a 
personal  interview  to  deliver  the  letter  of  the  President 
addressed  to  the  emperor.  Yeh  treated  this  request  in 
the  same  manner  as  that  made  by  Mr.  Marshall.  In 
his  reply,  after  expressing  his  delight  at  learning  of  Mr. 
McLane’s  arrival,  he  announced  that  he  was  very  busy 
and  said,  Suffer  me  then  to  wait  for  a little  leisure, 
when  I will  make  selection  of  a propitious  day,  that  we 
may  have  a pleasant  meeting.” 

Mr.  McLane  was  no  less  indignant  than  his  prede- 
cessor on  the  receipt  of  this  impertinent,  if  not  inso- 
lent ” communication,  as  he  termed  it,  and  determined 
to  make  no  further  application  for  an  interview,  but  to 
send  Yeh  a reply  and  rebuke  him  for  his  discourtesy 
and  incivility.”  In  forwarding  a copy  to  Washington 
he  expressed  the  hope  that  Secretary  Marcy  would  find 
it  sufficiently  pointed,”  as  it  assuredly  was. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


215 


There  seemed  nothing  left  for  him  to  do  but  to 
pursue  much  the  same  course  of  conduct  as  his  pre- 
decessor. Commodore  Perry  having  placed  at  his  dis- 
posal the  Susquehanna,  one  of  the  newest  and  best 
vessels  of  the  navy,  he  proceeded  in  her  to  the  port  of 
Shanghai.  He  found  the  state  of  affairs  there  even 
worse  than  on  Mr.  Marshall’s  visit  the  previous  year. 
The  imperialists  and  Taipings  were  confronting  each 
other  in  and  around  the  foreign  settlement.  The  Chi- 
nese city  of  Shanghai  had  been  captured  by  the  rebels, 
and  only  the  presence  of  the  American,  British,  and 
French  war  vessels  prevented  the  foreign  settlement 
from  being  occupied  by  them.  The  foreign  merchants 
had  refused  to  pay  duties  to  the  imperial  government 
on  the  goods  imported  which  it  could  not  protect,  and 
it  was  reported  that  the  merchants  were  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  disordered  situation  to  import  large  cargoes 
without  duty. 

While  at  Shanghai  Mr.  McLane  put  himself  in  com- 
munication with  the  viceroy  E-liang,  whose  headquarters 
were  in  the  interior  of  the  province,  and  was  granted 
an  interview  by  him.  Like  Mr.  Marshall,  he  was  much 
pleased  with  the  reception  accorded  him,  but  in  the 
real  business  sought  to  be  dispatched  he  was  similarly 
unsuccessful,  and  he  declined  under  the  circumstances 
to  intrust  the  President’s  letter  to  the  hands  of  the 
viceroy  for  transmission  to  the  emperor. 

After  a stay  of  four  months  he  returned  to  Hong- 
kong. Here  he  conferred  with  Sir  John  Bowring,  the 
British  governor,  whom  he  found  in  the  same  state  of 
mind  as  himself  respecting  Commissioner  Yeh.  During 


216 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Mr.  McLane’s  absence  at  Shanghai  the  governor  had 
sought  to  approach  Yeh  upon  the  subject  of  a revision 
of  the  treaties,  with  a view  to  remedying  the  defects 
which  had  been  developed  in  those  in  force,  and  had 
been  met  by  evasion  and  a refusal  to  act.  Mr.  Mc- 
Lane  also  conferred  with  the  French  minister,  and  the 
three  foreign  representatives  decided  to  act  in  concert 
in  bringing  pressure  to  bear  upon  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment to  satisfy  the  existing  grievances,  and  in  so  acting 
the  American  minister  was  conforming  to  the  spirit  of 
his  instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  State. 

It  was  determined  that  if  negotiations  could  not  be 
opened  at  Shanghai  with  a properly  authorized  repre- 
sentative of  the  emperor,  they  would  jointly  go  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Peiho  in  men-of-war  of  their  respective 
nations,  and  there  renew  their  demands  on  the  imperial 
court.  And  of  this  resolution  they  separately  served 
notice  on  Commissioner  Yeh  at  Canton. 

The  three  envoys  arrived  at  Shanghai  during  the 
month  of  September,  1854,  and  remained  for  a few 
weeks  hoping  that  they  might  be  advised  of  the  dis- 
patch from  Peking  of  plenipotentiaries  empowered  to 
open  negotiations,  but  they  were  disappointed.  In 
accordance  with  their  plans.  Sir  John  Bowring,  Mr. 
McLane,  and  the  French  secretary  of  legation  reached 
the  Peiho  October  15,  the  French  minister  being  de- 
tained at  Shanghai  by  an  accident. 

On  their  arrival  they  found  that  no  steps  had  been 
taken  to  send  plenipotentiaries  to  meet  them.  After 
some  time  consumed  in  conferences  with  the  local  au- 
thorities and  weeks  lost  in  waiting,  a commissioner 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


217 


from  the  emperor  finally  arrived.  He  arranged  to 
receive  the  foreign  envoys  on  the  muddy  banks  of  the 
river  in  a miserable  tent  badly  adapted  for  the  purpose. 
It  was  a shameful  disregard  of  the  courtesies  so  usual 
with  Chinese  officials,  and  could  only  be  interpreted  as 
a studied  affront  to  the  foreigners  who  had  made  them- 
selves unwelcome  guests. 

When  the  conference  was  opened,  the  Chinese  pleni- 
potentiary confessed  that  he  had  no  full  powers  or 
authority  to  negotiate,  and  could  only  hear  what  the 
foreign  representatives  had  to  say.  Their  object  was  to 
secure  a revision  of  the  treaties,  and  they  all  rested 
their  claim  upon  a clause  in  the  American  treaty  of 
1844  which  reads  as  follows : — 

Inasmuch  as  the  circumstances  of  the  several  ports 
of  China  open  to  foreign  commerce  are  different,  ex- 
perience may  show  that  inconsiderable  modifications 
are  requisite  in  those  ports  which  relate  to  commerce 
and  navigation;  in  which  case  the  two  governments 
will,  at  the  expiration  of  twelve  years  from  the  date 
of  said  convention,  treat  amicably  concerning  the  same, 
by  the  means  of  suitable  persons  appointed  to  conduct 
such  negotiations.” 

While  the  Chinese  plenipotentiary  stated  that  he  had 
no  authority  to  negotiate,  he  took  pains  to  inform  the 
British  representative  that  he  could  not  claim  the 
right  to  have  his  treaty  revised  because  the  American 
treaty  contained  the  clause  cited;  and  he  replied  to 
Mr.  McLane  that  ^‘the  inconsiderable  modifications” 
referred  to  did  not  justify  the  revision  for  which  he 
contended.  This  was  an  answer  worthy  to  emanate 


218  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

from  officials  more  experienced  than  the  Chinese  in 
diplomacy,  and  which  could  not  be  well  gainsaid  from 
the  standpoint  of  international  law.  The  result  of  the 
conference  was  a failure,  as  it  was  not  possible  for  the 
ships  to  remain  at  that  stormy  season  of  the  year  until 
an  answer  to  the  demands  of  the  envoys  could  be 
received  from  Peking,  and  no  assurance  was  given 
that  these  demands  would  be  laid  before  the  emperor. 
Nothing  was  left  for  the  representatives  but  to  leave 
the  inhospitable  shores  of  the  Peiho  and  return  to  safer 
anchorage  and  more  genial  climate  at  Shanghai  and 
Hongkong. 

From  Shanghai  Mr.  McLane  sent  full  details  of  the 
events  at  the  Peiho  to  the  Secretary  of  State  and  gave 
a review  of  his  futile  efforts  since  his  arrival  in  China 
to  lay  before  the  authorities  at  Peking  the  complaints 
of  his  government.  He  then  submitted  a recommen- 
dation that  the  President  embody  in  a letter  to  the 
emperor  the  complaints  which  he  had  formulated  and 
the  changes  desired  in  the  treaty ; and  that  this  letter 
be  confided  to  a commissioner  supported  by  the 
presence  of  the  United  States  naval  forces  in  the 
Chinese  seas,  precisely  as  the  letter  of  the  President 
was  delivered  to  the  emperor  of  Japan.”  He  reported 
that  the  British  and  French  ministers  had  recommended 
that  a more  decisive  poHcy  should  be  initiated,  and  it 
was  to  be  hoped  that  harmonious  action  would  continue 
to  be  maintained  between  the  three  governments.  In  a 
later  dispatch  he  continued  to  urge  a new  and  a more 
positive,  perhaps  an  aggressive,  policy  ” on  the  part 
of  the  Western  nations  towards  China. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


219 


The  ten  months  which  Mr.  McLane  had  passed  in 
his  active  but  vexatious  duties  had  been  very  trying, 
and  exposure  at  Canton  to  the  heat  and  malaria  of  the 
tropics  had  brought  on  a fever,  which  so  seriously 
affected  his  health  as  to  make  it  necessary  for  him  to 
ask  for  a leave  of  absence.  Before  taking  his  depar- 
ture, however,  he  was  enabled  to  bring  to  a conclusion 
a matter  which  had  greatly  troubled  the  American  mer- 
chants at  Shanghai.  JVlr.  Marshall  had  decided  that 
they  should  pay  to  the  imperial  government  the  duties 
uncollected  and  suspended  during  the  paralysis  of  au- 
thority while  the  rebels  were  attacking  Shanghai.  On 
the  arrival  of  the  new  minister  a fresh  representation 
was  made  to  him,  with  an  agreement  to  abide  by 
his  award.  Mr.  McLane  decided  that  a considerable 
amount  of  the  sum  in  controversy  should  be  paid  to 
the  Chinese  government,  and  it  was  accordingly  done, 
although  the  British  merchants  successfully  resisted  a 
similar  demand  upon  them.  It  is  greatly  to  the  credit 
of  the  American  minister’s  impartial  rectitude  that,  in 
the  midst  of  his  disappointment  and  ill  treatment  by 
the  authorities,  he  should  have  rendered  a decision  so 
favorable  to  China;  and  it  is  likewise  to  the  credit 
of  the  American  merchants  that  they  should  have 
observed  their  obligations  when  those  of  other  national- 
ities refused. 

In  December,  1854,  the  legation  was  again  intrusted 
to  Dr.  Parker  as  charge,  and  Mr.  McLane  left  his  post 
on  sick  leave.  On  his  arrival  at  Paris  he  tendered  his 
resignation  of  a mission  which  had  proved  so  unsatis- 


220  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

factory  in  its  results/  and  returned  to  the  United  States 
to  receive  new  honors  at  home  and  to  hold  later  the 
missions  to  Mexico  and  Paris. 

Dr.  Parker  conducted  the  affairs  of  the  legation  for 
several  months  under  very  perplexing  conditions.  The 
Taiping  rebels  were  threatening  Canton  and  the  other 
treaty  ports.  In  the  impotent  state  of  the  imperial 
government,  pirates  multiplied,  infested  the  coasts,  and 
imperiled  foreign  commerce  in  the  treaty  ports.  In  the 
consequent  disorganization  of  trade,  smuggling  greatly 
increased,  and  a ready  market  was  foimd  for  warhke 
supplies.  Both  Ministers  Marshall  and  McLane  had 
issued  proclamations  enjoining  strict  neutrality  upon 
Americans,  and  Dr.  Parker  exerted  himself  to  enforce 
these  orders.  He  found  that  the  American  flag  was 
being  abused  through  the  negligence  or  bad  faith  of 
consuls  by  its  illegal  transfer  to  Chinese  or  other  for- 
eign vessels.  The  shipping  and  registry  regulations  of 
Great  Britain  made  easy  the  transfer  of  its  flag  to  such 
vessels,  which  was  forbidden  under  American  law ; and 
except  through  the  connivance  of  consuls  in  authorizing 
registry,  American  shipping  was  placed  at  a disadvan- 
tage in  these  times  of  disorder.  Claims  by  Americans 
for  injury  to  their  property  or  business  or  for  non-ob- 
servance of  their  treaty  rights,  were  also  accumulating, 
and  the  authorities  were  badly  situated  or  indisposed 
to  give  them  satisfaction. 

Twenty  years’  residence  in  China  and  the  onerous 
labors  of  his  position  so  impaired  his  health  that  Dr. 

^ For  details  of  McLane’s  mission,  S.  Ex.  Doc.  22,  35th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  ; 
S.  Ex.  Doc.  39,  36th  Cong.  1st  Sess.;  N.  A.  Review,  Oct.  1859,  pp.  487-504. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


221 


Parker  found  it  necessary  to  ask  for  a leave  of  absence, 
and  in  May,  1855,  he  made  a visit  to  the  United  States. 
His  intercourse  with  the  authorities  at  Washington  so 
favorably  impressed  them  with  his  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  Chinese  affairs  and  with  his  abihty,  that,  dis- 
carding the  prevailing  rule  of  party  preferment,  he  was 
nominated  full  commissioner  to  China. 

He  returned  to  his  post  through  Europe,  and  held 
interviews  in  London  and  in  Paris  with  the  British  and 
French  ministers  for  foreign  affairs,  in  which  there  was 
a free  exchange  of  views  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pur- 
sued in  China  by  the  three  maritime  powers,  and  an 
informal  agreement  reached  that  there  should  be  co- 
operation and  harmony  of  action.  Full  reports  of  these 
interviews  were  sent  by  him  to  the  Secretary  of  State, 
by  whom  his  action  was  commended. 

On  his  arrival  at  Canton  in  January,  1856,  Dr. 
Parker  notified  Yeh  of  his  appointment  as  commis- 
sioner and  that  he  desired  a personal  interview  to 
deliver  for  transmission  a letter  from  the  President  to 
the  emperor.  To  this  application  Yeh  returned  his 
stereotyped  reply  that  he  was  then  too  busy  to  grant 
the  interview.  After  conferring  with  his  British  and 
French  colleagues  and  determining  upon  uniform  action 
for  a revision  of  the  treaties,  he  again  asked  Yeh  for 
an  interview,  and  being  again  refused,  the  amiable  and 
usually  even-tempered  minister  could  restrain  his  indig- 
nation no  longer.  He  addressed  Yeh  a communication 
reviewing  the  latter’s  conduct  towards  his  predecessors, 
who  had  in  vain  sought  for  interviews  on  important 
business,  and  stated  that  so  sure  as  there  is  a sun  in 


222  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

heaven,  so  certainly  is  it  that  the  day  is  near  when  it 
will  be  endured  no  longer/’  He  then  gave  him  notice 
of  his  intention  to  proceed  to  Peking  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  a revision  of  the  treaty  of  1844  and  a 
redress  of  the  accumulated  grievances.  Similar  notices 
were  given  by  the  British  and  French  representatives. 

But  the  doctor  was  no  more  subcessful  than  Messrs. 
Marshall  and  McLane  in  the  execution  of  his  indmnant 
resolution.  He  was  delayed  some  time  by  the  absence 
of  a naval  vessel  in  reaching  Shanghai.  There  his 
hopes  were  raised  by  the  promise  of  the  local  Chinese 
authorities  that  they  would  bring  about  the  opening 
of  negotiations.  This  promise  was  only  made  to  be 
broken,  and  then  the  season  was  too  far  advanced  to 
go  to  the  Peiho ; besides,  an  adequate  naval  force  was 
not  at  hand  for  the  purpose. 

The  chief  result  of  his  visit  to  the  north  was  the 
reception  of  an  additional  indignity  to  his  government. 
On  his  resentment  of  Yeh’s  incivility  Dr.  Parker  had 
declined  his  offer  to  receive  the  President’s  letter,  and 
at  Amoy  he  accepted  the  promise  of  the  viceroy  of 
that  province  to  transmit  it.  While  at  Shanghai  the 
letter  was  returned  to  him  from  Peking,  with  a state- 
ment that  it  could  only  be  received  through  the  high 
commissioner,  Yeh,  specially  delegated  by  the  emperor 
to  deal  with  foreign  affairs.  But  when  the  autograph 
letter  of  President  Pierce  addressed  to  the  emperor  was 
redelivered  to  Dr.  Parker  the  seals  were  broken.^ 

When  he  reached  Hongkong  on  his  return  from 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  22,  35th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  pp.  495-984  ; Martin’s  Cathay, 
146. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


223 


Shanghai  in  November,  1856,  he  found  that  British  pa- 
tience with  the  Chinese  authorities  had  been  exhausted, 
and  that  a state  of  flagrant  war  existed.  The  forts 
which  guarded  the  city  of  Canton  had  been  captured, 
and  the  city  itself  had  been  bombarded  and  entered  by 
the  British  forces. 

The  immediate  event  which  brought  on  this  second 
war  of  Great  Britain  against  China  was  the  boarding 
of  the  lorcha  ^ Arrow  in  front  of  Canton  by  marines 
from  a Chinese  war  vessel,  the  seizing  and  carrying 
away  of  the  crew  on  charge  of  piracy,  and  hauling  down 
the  British  flag.  The  vessel  was  built  and  owned  by  a 
Chinese,  but  had  been  registered  as  British  and  was 
carrying  the  British  flag.  The  term  of  registry  had, 
however,  expired  several  days  before  the  seizure  and 
had  not  been  renewed. 

Sir  John  Bowring,^  the  governor  of  Hongkong  and 
diplomatic  representative  of  Great  Britain,  made  a de- 
mand for  the  return  of  the  seized  sailors,  an  apology 
for  the  act,  and  an  assurance  that  the  British  flag  should 
be  respected  in  future.  Yeh  ordered  the  release  of  the 
sailors,  although  he  stated  that  an  investigation  proved 
nine  of  them  to  be  guilty  of  piracy,  but  he  declined  to 
make  the  apology  demanded  because  he  claimed  the 

^ Lorcha  — a Portuguese  term  for  a fast-sailing  schooner. 

^ Sir  John  Bowring,  who  was  the  active  agent  in  bringing  on  the  war, 
was  a noted  man  of  his  time,  possessed  of  various  accomplishments.  He 
was  of  peaceful  inclinations,  but  of  an  impulsive  temperament ; a pupil 
and  the  literary  executor  of  Jeremy  Bentham  ; for  several  years  a mem- 
ber of  Parliament  and  an  authority  on  commercial  subjects  ; of  literary 
tastes,  a linguist  having  a mastery  of  more  than  forty  languages  ; and  a 
poet  and  hymnologist,  best  known  as  the  author  of  the  hymns  “ In  the 
Cross  of  Christ  I glory,”  and  “Watchman,  tell  us  of  the  Night.” 


224 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


vessel  was  not  a British  ship.  The  governor’s  contention 
was  that  although  her  registry  had  expired,  she  was  en- 
titled to  protection ; besides,  the  Chinese  did  not  know 
of  the  expiry  of  the  registry,  und  hence  that  the  act  was 
none  the  less  an  outrage  on  the  flag.  Yeh  was  obsti- 
nate in  his  refusal,  and  war  followed. 

The  views  of  British  statesmen  and  historians  differ 
greatly  as  to  the  merits  of  the  war,  but  there  is  a gen- 
eral concurrence  of  sentiment  that  the  affair  of  the 
Arrow  was  not  of  itself  a sufficient  justification  for  hos- 
tihties.  The  matter  is  well  stated  by  Lord  Elgin  in  his 
report  to  his  government : I think  I have  given  to  the 

Arrow  case  as  much  prominence  as  it  deserves,  when  I 
represent  it  as  the  drop  which  has  caused  the  cup  to 
overflow.”  But  in  his  private  journal  he  frankly  refers 
to  that  wretched  question  of  the  Arrow,  which  is  a 
scandal  to  us,  and  is  so  considered,  I have  reason  to 
know,  by  all  except  the  few  who  are  personally  com- 
promised. It  was  merely  the  culmination  of  a series  of 
acts  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  which  brought  on  the 
hostilities,  and  was  not  of  itself  a just  cause  of  war.”  ^ 
The  origin  of  the  series  of  acts  ” referred  to  may,  in 
most  cases,  be  found  in  the  extensive  system  of  smug- 
gling of  the  East  India  Company’s  opium. 

Although  the  government  of  the  United  States 
did  not  think  proper  to  follow  the  example  of  Great 

^ For  official  reports  relative  to  Arrow  War  see  various  British  Par- 
liamentary Blue  Books,  “ China,”  1856-60  ; 3 McCarthy’s  Hist,  chaps. 
XXX.  and  xlii.  ; Boulger’s  Hist.  chap.  xix.  ; Douglas’s  China,  chap.  ix.  ; 
Williams’s  Hist.  chap.  vi.  ; Martin’s  Cathay,  pt.  i.  chap.  x.  ; Nevius’s 
China,  301-12  ; N.  A.  Review,  January,  1860,  p.  125  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  22, 
35th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  984. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


225 


Britain  in  its  hostile  action,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  its  suc- 
cessive ministers,  who  were  subjected  to  the  insolence 
of  Yeh  and  the  indifference  of  the  Chinese  government 
to  their  repeated  representations,  expressed  to  their  gov- 
ernment the  conviction  that  the  only  way  to  secure  re- 
spect and  justice  from  the  Chinese  was  by  a manifesta- 
tion of  force.  Mr.  Marshall  wrote  the  Secretary  of 
State  that  the  Chinese  government  . . . concedes 
justice  only  in  the  presence  of  a force  able  and  willing 
to  exact  it.’’  Mr.  McLane,  referring  to  his  troubles 
with  Yeh,  reported  that  diplomatic  intercourse  can 
only  be  had  with  this  government  at  the  cannon’s 
mouth.”  The  peaceful  Dr.  Parker  was  so  aroused  by 
the  many  indignities  shown  to  his  government  that  he 
strongly  favored  an  alliance  of  the  United  States  with 
Great  Britain  in  the  war.^ 

Following  close  upon  the  affair  of  the  lorcha  Arrow, 
an  event  occurred  which  for  the  moment  seemed  des- 
tined to  bring  the  United  States  into  a union  with 
Great  Britain  in  the  war  upon  which  it  had  entered. 
While  proceeding  in  a boat  from  the  United  States 
squadron  in  the  lower  river  to  Canton,  Captain  Foote 
was  fired  upon  from  the  Chinese  forts,  and  the  day 
after  a surveying  party  from  the  squadron  was  also  fired 
upon  and  one  of  its  members  killed.  In  both  instances 
the  American  flag  was  prominently  displayed.  For 
these  acts  Commodore  Armstrong  determined  upon 
summary  punishment.  November  16,  1856,  the  day  of 
the  second  firing  on  the  flag,  he  sent  the  Portsmouth, 

^ H.  Ex.  Doc.  123,  33d  Cong.  1st  Sess.  11 ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  22  (cited), 
22,  1083. 


226 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


under  command  of  Captain  Foote,  afterwards  distin- 
guished in  the  Civil  War,  to  attack  the  forts  from 
which  the  firing  on  the  boats  had  occurred,  and  they 
were  soon  silenced. 

On  the  next  day  the  commodore  addressed  a note  to 
Commissioner  Yeh,  demanding  an  explanation  and  a 
suitable  apology  within  twenty-four  hours.  Before  the 
time  had  expired,  however,  seeing  active  work  progress- 
ing towards  the  restoration  of  the  damaged  forts,  the 
commodore  ordered  another  attack,  and  the  forts  were 
taken  by  assault  and  destroyed.  Seven  Americans  were 
hilled  and  twenty-two  wounded,  while  the  loss  of  the 
Chinese  was  reported  at  three  hundred.  A communi- 
cation from  Yeh  was  received  before  the  second  attack 
was  made,  but  it  proved  to  be  of  an  unsatisfactory 
nature ; and  further  correspondence  followed.  Yeh 
claimed  that,  in  view  of  the  hostilities  conducted  by  the 
British  at  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Canton,  boats  of  other 
nationalities  ought  to  keep  away  from  the  scene  of  war, 
and  that  mistakes  as  to  flags  would  not  then  occur. 
But  the  severe  punishment  which  had  been  inflicted 
upon  the  Chinese  forts  did  not  seem  to  have  given  him 
much  offense,  for  he  finally  wrote  the  commodore. 

There  is  no  matter  of  strife  between  our  two  nations. 
Henceforth  let  the  fashion  of  the  flag  which  American 
ships  employ  be  clearly  defined,  and  inform  me  what  it 
is  beforehand.  This  will  be  a verification  of  the  friendly 
relations  between  our  countries.”  Of  such  little  impor- 
tance was  the  affair  in  the  mind  of  this  oriental  dignitary. 

Yeh’s  letter  ended  the  correspondence,  and  the  at- 
tack of  the  American  navy  on  the  Barrier  forts  was  a 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA  227 

closed  incident.  It  was  the  only  act  of  warlike  violence 
by  American  authorities  on  the  Chinese  till  a half  cen- 
tury afterwards,  when  a division  of  the  army  of  the 
United  States  marched  to  the  relief  of  its  beleaguered 
minister  and  citizens  at  Peking.  Such  a prompt  and 
peaceful  settlement  was  a disappointment  to  the  Brit- 
ish, as  they  earnestly  desired  the  cooperation  of  the 
United  States  in  the  campaign  which  they  were  prepar- 
ing against  the  Chinese.^ 

The  government  at  Washington  saw  no  occasion  to 
give  further  attention  to  the  engagement  between  the 
navy  and  the  Barrier  forts,  but  certain  occurrences  in 
connection  with  the  bombardment  of  Canton  by  the 
British  seemed  to  call  for  further  inquiry.  The  press 
accounts  of  that  affair  reported  that  the  American  con- 
suls at  Canton  and  Hongkong  were  both  present  at  the 
assault  and  participated  in  it,  and  that  the  latter  headed 
a body  of  United  States  marines  carrying  the  American 
flag.  The  charge  was  likewise  made  by  Commissioner 
Yeh.  Secretary  Marcy  strongly  condemned  any  viola- 
tion of  the  neutral  attitude  of  the  United  States,  and 
ordered  Minister  Parker  to  make  a thorough  investiga- 
tion, authorizing  him,  in  case  the  charge  against  the 
consul  at  Hongkong  was  well  founded,  to  remove  the 
latter  from  his  post. 

The  consul  at  Canton  in  his  official  report  says  that 
on  entering  the  city  half  an  hour  after  the  walls  were 
carried,  I found  the  English  in  full  possession  of  the 
place  — the  officers,  the  soldiers,  and  the  sailors  helping 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  22  (cited),  1020, 1042  ; N.  A.  Review,  Oct.  1859,  p.  512  ; 
Harper’s  Mag.  Oct.  1898,  p.  741. 


228  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

themselves  to  what  they  pleased.  I met  his  excellency, 
Admiral  Seymour,  within  the  palace,  who  kindly  gave 
me  permission  to  take  a few  articles  as  mementos  of 
the  occurrence  of  the  day.”  It  seems  that  looting 
of  Chinese  palaces  was  practiced  long  before  the  occu- 
pation of  Peking  in  the  year  1900,  and  that  the  prac- 
tice was  demorahzing  to  even  a neutral  consul.  Both 
he  and  the  consul  at  Hongkong  protested  their  inno- 
cence of  any  violation  of  their  neutral  duties,  alleging 
that  their  presence  was  induced  merely  by  curiosity,  and 
the  latter  stoutly  denied  that  he  was  responsible  for  the 
presence  of  the  American  flag.  It  appears  that  the 
national  emblem  was  within  the  walls  and  in  the  hands 
of  an  American  marine,  but  not  authorized  by  any  offi- 
cer of  the  government.  The  investigation  failed  to  es- 
tablish any  violation  of  neutral  duty,  but  showed  that 
the  sympathies  of  the  American  colony  were  plainly 
with  their  kinsmen.^ 

The  British  preparations  for  the  campaign  which  had 
been  resolved  upon,  to  bring  the  Chinese  government 
to  terms  respecting  a revision  of  the  treaties  and  a re- 
dress of  grievances,  was  delayed  for  a full  year,  on  ac- 
count of  the  Sepoy  revolt  in  India.  In  the  mean  time 
the  foreign  factories  (mercantile  establishments)  at  Can- 
ton were  destroyed  by  fire,  and  commerce  was  sus- 
pended. Dr.  Parker  was  busily  occupied  in  his  efforts 
to  protect  American  interests  in  this  time  of  disorder, 
and  in  seeking  to  induce  the  Chinese  authorities  to  give 
attention  and  satisfaction  to  American  demands.  He 
felt  that  the  British  were  pursuing  the  only  policy 

1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  22  (cited),  1048, 1319, 1383 ; N.  A.  Rev.  Oct.  1859,  pp. 
508-11. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


229 


which  would  bring  the  imperial  government  to  terms, 
and  he  strongly  recommended  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
that  the  United  States  should  cooperate  with  the  allies 
in  the  policy  determined  upon,  France  having  definitely 
resolved  to  participate  with  Great  Britain  in  the  pro- 
posed military  expedition.  Dr.  Parker  suggested  that 
an  active  campaign  might  be  avoided,  and  China 
brought  to  accept  the  demands  of  the  powers  by  the 
temporary  occupation  by  them  of  different  portions  of 
territory.  His  plan  was  that  France  should  take  pos- 
session of  Korea,  Great  Britain  of  Chusan,  and  the 
United  States  of  the  island  of  Formosa,  and  hold  them 
as  hostages  till  a satisfactory  settlement  of  all  questions 
was  attained.  At  this  day  such  a scheme  seems  quite 
visionary  and  impracticable,  but  it  was  known  to  Parker 
that  only  three  years  before  Commodore  Perry  had 
made  a similar  recommendation  respecting  the  Lew  Chew 
Islands  in  connection  with  the  Japanese  negotiations. 

But  such  schemes  did  not  in  any  way  harmonize  with 
the  peaceful  policy  at  Washington.  Not  even  could 
the  daring  act  of  the  navy  in  destroying  the  Barrier 
forts  to  avenge  the  insults  to  the  flag  disturb  the  equa- 
nimity of  the  government.  Secretary  Marcy  wrote 
Dr.  Parker  that  the  President  very  much  doubted 
whether  there  was  sufficient  justification  for*  such  a 
severe  measure,  and  thus  stated  his  views : The 

British  government  evidently  have  objects  beyond  those 
contemplated  by  the  United  States,  and  we  ought  not 
to  be  drawn  along  with  it,  however  anxious  it  may  be 
for  our  cooperation.  The  President  sincerely  hopes 
that  you,  as  well  as  our  naval  commander,  will  be  able 


230  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

to  do  all  that  is  required  for  the  defense  of  American 
citizens  and  the  protection  of  their  property,  without 
being  included  in  the  British  quarrel,  or  producing  any 
serious  disturbance  in  our  amicable  relations  with 
China.”  Such  instructions  were  so  contrary  to  the 
views  of  the  minister  that  it  was  well  that  their  execu- 
tion should  be  intrusted  to  a new  representative. 

A change  of  administration  had  occurred  on  March 
4, 1857,  and  a month  later  a new  minister  to  China  was 
appointed.  This  action  was  not  taken  because  of  any 
dissatisfaction  with  the  incumbent,  but  it  appears  to 
have  been  brought  about  by  the  exigencies  of  domestic 
politics.^  Dr.  Parker  retired  from  his  post  in  August, 
and  returned  to  the  United  States,  thus  ending  a long 
and  useful  career  in  China.  He  made  his  residence  in 
Washington  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1888,  and 
was  active  in  scientific  and  religious  circles.  Hon.  Hugh 
McCulloch,  secretary  of  the  treasury  under  three  presi- 
dents, who  enjoyed  his  society  and  friendship  in  these 
later  years,  says : No  man  can  look  back  upon  a long 

life  with  greater  satisfaction  than  Dr.  Parker.  No  for- 
eigner had  better  opportunities  than  he  of  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  Chinese,  their  habits,  and  the  char- 
acter of  their  government ; and  no  one  could  have  used 
these  opportunities  to  greater  advantage,  both  to  China 
and  to  the  United  States.”  ^ 

1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  22  (cited),  1083-1278;  S.  Ex.  Doc.  30,  36th  Coug.  1st 
Sess.  p.  3.  In  giving  his  instructions  to  the  new  minister,  the  Secretary 
of  State  wrote : “ This  change  is  not  intended  to  cause  the  slightest  cen- 
sure upon  him  [Parker].  He  has  discharged  his  duties  with  zeal  and 
fidelity,  and  is  entitled  to  the  thanks  of  the  government.” 

2 Martin’s  Cathay,  27 ; Speer’s  China,  421 ; Littell’s  Living  Age,  Oct. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


231 


The  successor  of  Dr.  Parker,  William  B.  Reed,  of 
Penusylvania,  secured  his  appointment  mainly  because 
of  political  considerations,  having  supported  the  election 
of  Mr.  Buchanan  to  the  presidency,  although  of  the 
opposite  party.  He  was,  however,  a lawyer  of  consid- 
erable prominence,  and  proved  in  most  respects  fitted 
for  his  difficult  duties.  The  title  of  the  American  repre- 
sentative in  China  had  heretofore  been  that  of  commis- 
sioner, — a somewhat  anomalous  grade  in  diplomacy. 
In  order  to  give  Mr.  Reed  all  the  dignity  and  influence 
which  might  accrue  from  his  rank,  he  was  commissioned 
as  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary. 

In  view  of  the  threatening  state  of  affairs  in  China, 
with  England  and  France  joined  in  hostilities  against 
the  empire,  his  instructions  were  prepared  with  much 
care,  and  set  forth  the  attitude  of  the  United  States 
with  precision.  The  objects  which  it  was  understood 
the  allies  had  in  view  were  enumerated,  and  stated  to 
be  in  accord  with  those  desired  by  the  United  States. 
These  were,  first,  the  residence  of  foreign  ministers  at 
Peking,  reception  by  the  emperor,  and  intercourse  with 
an  accredited  ministry  of  foreign  affairs ; second,  an 
extension  of  commercial  intercourse  and  a better  regu- 
lation of  the  internal  tariff  on  imports  ; third,  religious 
freedom  for  foreigners ; and  fourth,  measures  for  better 
observance  of  treaty  stipulations.  The  minister  was 
directed  to  cooperate  by  peaceful  means  with  England 
and  France  to  secure  these  ends,  but  to  confine  his 
efforts  to  firm  representations  and  appeals  to  the  justice 

1859,  p.  384;  Men  and  Measures  of  Half  a Century,  by  H.  McCulloch, 
New  York,  1888,  p.  265. 


232 


AJklERICAN  DIPLO^klACY  IX  THE  ORIENT 


and  policy  of  the  Chinese  authorities.  He  was  reminded 
that  his  country  was  not  at  war  with  China,  and  sought 
only  to  enter  that  empire  for  lawful  commerce. 

With  these  instructions  was  inclosed  a copy  of  corre- 
spondence had  with  the  British  government,  in  response 
to  an  invitation  of  the  allies  to , join  in  their  hostile  ex- 
pedition. In  it  attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that  the 
executive  branch  of  the  government  of  the  United  States 
was  not  the  war-making  power,  that  mihtary  expeditions 
into  Chinese  territory  could  not  be  undertaken  without 
the  authority  of  Congress,  and  that  the  relations  of  the 
United  States  with  that  country,  in  the  judgment  of  the 
President,  did  not  then  warrant  a resort  to  war.  • The 
pohcy  of  the  United  States  was  one  of  peace  ; it  had 
no  political  views  connected  with  that  empire  ; and, 
owing  to  the  difference  in  manners  and  traits  of  national 
character,  true  wisdom  seemed  to  dictate  moderation,  dis- 
cretion, and  the  work  of  time  in  the  attempts  to  open 
China  to  ti*ade  and  intercourse. 

When  Mr.  Reed  arrived  in  Hongkong,  November, 
1857,  he  found  the  allies  almost  ready  to  begin  hostile 
operations.  Lord  Elgin,  — a British  statesman  of  noble 
family  and  large  political  experience,  — returning  from 
a successful  term  as  governor-general  of  Canada,  had 
been  assigned  by  his  government  to  the  political  man- 
agement of  the  campaign,  and  with  him  was  associated 
as  the  French  representative  Baron  Gros,  a diplomat  of 
high  reputation.  Upon  making  known  to  the  allies  the 
tenor  of  his  instructions,  Mr.  Reed  reports  their  surprise 
and  disappointment,  as  they  had  been  encouraged  in 
the  most  extravagant  expectation  of  cooperation  on  our 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


233 


part,  to  the  extent  even  of  acquisition  of  territory/’  and 
that  the  English  were  especially  irritable  ...  at  their 
inability  to  involve  the  United  States  in  their  unworthy 
quarrel.”  But  he  states  later  that  Lord  Elgin  had  not 
at  that  time  been  informed  of  the  character  of  the  reply 
to  the  invitation  to  join  the  allies,  and  that  after  its 
receipt  their  relations  were  more  cordial. 

The  first  duty  of  Mr.  Reed  was  to  seek  an  interview 
with  the  imperial  commissioner  Yeh  and  make  an  effort 
to  open  negotiations  for  treaty  revision  ; but  he  was 
doomed  to  the  fate  of  his  predecessors.  This  polite 
but  obstinate  official,  on  hearing  that  an  officer  of  the 
highest  fame  and  reputation  with  such  kindly  feelings  ” 
had  reached  China,  was  extremely  desirous  of  having 
an  interview,”  but  since  the  destruction  of  the  suburbs 
by  the  British  there  is  really  no  place  where  to  hold 
it.”  As  to  negotiations,  there  was  no  occasion  for 
them,  as  the  existing  treaty  was  satisfactory  and  bene- 
ficial, and  did  not  require  alteration.  Thus  the  minister 
was  informed  that  the  especially  designated  diplomatic 
representative  of  the  emperor  could  not  meet  him,  nor 
would  he  consider  with  him  the  business  of  his  mission. 

The  blow  which  the  allies  had  been  preparing  fell 
upon  Canton  in  December,  1857.  It  was  a second  time 
captured  and  sacked.  Yeh  was  made  a prisoner  and 
sent  to  Calcutta,  where  he  died  within  a few  weeks  after 
his  arrival.  This  official  had  established  an  unenviable 
reputation  for  incivility,  obduracy,  and  hatred  of  for- 
eigners, and  upon  him  had  been  placed  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  unsatisfactory  condition  of  international 
relations.  But  at  the  capture  of  Canton  the  documents 


234  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  allies  revealed  the  fact 
that  his  conduct  had  been  directed  from  Peking,  and 
that  the  imperial  court  was  responsible  for  his  refusal 
to  open  negotiations  for  treaty  revision  or  the  redress 
of  grievances.  Among  those  documents  were  also 
found  the  Chinese  originals  of  the  British,  American, 
and  French  treaties  of  1842  and  1844,  and  from  this 
fact  it  was  inferred  that  they  had  never  been  sent  to 
Peking  nor  their  terms  known  to  the  emperor ; but 
this  was  afterwards  shown  to  be  incorrect,  as  they  had 
been  officially  published  by  the  court. 

After  the  fall  of  Canton,  the  allies  announced  a dispo- 
sition to  forego  further  hostile  operations,  if  the  Chinese 
government  would  appoint  plenipotentiaries  and  open 
negotiations  for  a revision  of  the  treaties.  Meanwhile 
a Russian  minister  had  reached  Hongkong,  after  an 
unsuccessful  effort  to  communicate  with  the  emperor 
by  way  of  the  Peiho.  His  instructions  were  similar  to 
those  of  the  United  States  minister,  — to  press  nego- 
tiations upon  the  Chinese,  but  by  peaceful  methods 
only.  Mr.  Reed,  after  his  cavalier  treatment  by  Yeh, 
and  after  a brief  experience  in  Chinese  affairs,  was  led 
to  the  same  conviction  as  his  predecessors,  — : that  only 
coercive  measures  would  be  effective  in  bringing  the 
imperial  government  to  terms.  In  his  review  of  the 
situation  to  the  Secretary  of  State  he  said : I do  not 

hesitate  to  say  that  a new  policy  towards  China  ought 
to  be  . . . initiated,  and  that  the  powers  of  Western 
civilization  must  insist  on  what  they  know  to  be  their 
rights,  and  give  up  the  dream  of  dealing  with  China  as 
a power  to  which  any  ordinary  rules  apply.”  And  a 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


235 


month  later  he  wrote  that  nothing  short  of  an  actual 
approach  to  Peking  with  a decisive  tone  and  available 
force  ’’  would  produce  a result.  Referring  to  the  peace- 
ful attitude  of  the  United  States,  he  adds  : Steadfast 

neutrality  and  consistent  friendship  make  no  impression 
on  the  isolated  obduracy  of  this  empire.’^ 

In  this  frame  of  mind  the  American  minister  found 
no  difficulty  in  uniting  with  the  British  and  French 
representatives  in  identic  notes  to  Peking,  in  which  a 
request  was  made  for  the  appointment  of  plenipoten- 
tiaries to  meet  the  foreign  representatives  at  Shanghai 
to  negotiate  for  a revision  of  the  treaties,  with  a notice 
that  if  such  action  was  not  taken,  they  would  feel  it 
their  duty  to  approach  still  nearer  to  the  capital  to  press 
their  demand.  The  Russian  minister  likewise  took  the 
same  course. 

Mr.  Reed  informed  the  Secretary  of  State  that,  in 
case  of  refusal  to  negotiate  at  Shanghai,  the  powers 
would  jointly  proceed  to  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho. 

This,’’  he  says,  wiU  be  made  the  most  imposing  ap- 
peal that  has  ever  been  addressed  by  the  W estern  powers 
to  the  sense  of  justice  and  policy  of  the  Imperial  court.” 
He  then  submits  for  the  consideration  of  the  President 
the  possible  alternative  of  a persistent  and  contemptu- 
ous refusal  to  entertain  any  friendly  proposition  to 
afford  redress  for  injuries,  or  to  revise  the  treaty;  ” and 
he  asks  to  be  invested  with  power  to  exercise  the  neces- 
sary coercion  to  bring  the  court  to  terms.  Secretary 
Cass  replied  approving  of  the  minister’s  course  in  join- 
ing with  the  powers  in  their  representations  to  Peking, 
but  he  again  refers  to  his  instructions,  and  states  that, 


236  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

although  the  United  States  has  serious  cause  of  com- 
plaint against  China,  it  has  not  been  thought  wise  to 
seek  redress  by  a resort  to  arms.  This  alternative  may 
yet  be  forced  upon  us,  he  says ; but  when  the  exigency 
comes,  the  President  will  have  to  ask  Congress  for  au- 
thority, and  he  was  not  then  prepared  to  make  such 
request. 

In  accordance  with  their  agreement  the  foreign  en- 
voys met  at  Shanghai  in  April,  1858,  and  there  re- 
ceived the  answer  from  Peking,  denying  their  right  to 
have  direct  communication  with  the  court  and  referring 
them  to  the  commissioner  at  Canton  who  had  been 
appointed  to  succeed  Yeh.  Mr.  Reed  characterized 
this  reply  as  similar  to  those  given  by  Yeh ; the  same 
unmeaning  profession,  the  same  dexterous  sophistry ; 
and,  what  is  more  material,  the  same  passive  resistance ; 
the  same  stohd  refusal  to  yield  any  point  of  substance.” 
The  envoys,  therefore,  lost  no  time  in  carrying  out 
their  resolution  to  proceed  to  the  Peiho,  in  order  to 
reach  there  early  in  the  season. 

The  British  and  French  envoys  were  accompanied 
by  the  fleets  and  forces  which  had  participated  in  the 
warlike  operations  against  Canton,  but  the  American 
and  Russian  ministers  went,  each  in  a single  vessel. 
Mr.  Reed  advised  the  Secretary  that  if  hostilities 
recommence,  obeying  the  spirit  and  letter  of  my  instruc- 
tions, I shall  continue  a passive  spectator,”  waiting 
instructions  from  home.  He  reported  that  the  Russian 
minister,  also,  had  ‘^positive  instructions  to  abstain 
strictly  from  any  measures  of  hostiflty,  except  in  case 
of  extremity.” 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


237 


On  the  arrival  of  the  envoys  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Peiho,  they  found  no  one  authorized  to  open  negotia- 
tions, and  the  four  ministers  sent  identic  notes  to 
Peking,  asking  for  the  appointment  within  six  days  of 
plenipotentiaries.  Before  the  expiration  of  the  period 
named,  a notice  was  received  by  all  the  envoys  that 
a special  commissioner  had  been  appointed  by  the 
emperor  to  open  negotiations  and  that  he  was  ready 
to  meet  them.  The  communications  were  not  properly 
addressed,  and  the  British  and  French  refused  to  re- 
ceive them,  but  the  American  minister,  treating  the  one 
received  by  him  as  a clerical  error,  sent  it  back  for  cor- 
rection, which  was  readily  made.  He  and  the  Russian 
minister  proceeded  to  open  negotiations  with  the  Chi- 
nese commissioner,  but  the  British  and  French,  find- 
ing that  he  did  not  possess  full  powers  ” to  make  a 
treaty,  but  only  to  negotiate  and  report  the  result  of 
his  action  to  Peking,  declined  to  treat  with  him.  They 
maintained  that  the  appointment  was  in  line  with  the 
past  policy  of  evasion  and  delay,  and  the  documents 
which  had  been  captured  at  Canton  seemed  to  warrant 
their  conclusion.  At  a later  date,  Mr.  Reed,  after 
being  made  fully  acquainted  with  the  tenor  of  these 
documents,  said  they  justified  the  coercive  policy  pur- 
sued by  the  allies  at  the  Peiho  and  Tientsin. 

The  commissioner’s  powers  not  being  enlarged,  the 
British  and  French  allies  decided  to  proceed  to  Tientsin 
and  there  renew  their  request  for  a commissioner  with 
full  powers.  Accordingly  a demand  was  made  for  the 
surrender  of  the  Taku  forts,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho, 
in  order  that  a secure  passage  might  be  had  to  Tientsin. 


238  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

This  demand  being  refused,  the  forts  were  taken  by 
assault,  after  a spirited  resistance,  and  the  British  and 
French  admirals  and  envoys  ascended  the  Peiho  to 
Tientsin  without  further  opposition.  They  were  at 
once  followed  by  the  American  and  Russian  ministers. 

The  imperial  court,  now  thoroughly  alarmed  by  the 
determined  action  of  the  allies,  made  haste  to  appoint 
commissioners  bearing  full  authority  to  make  and 
sign  treaties.  And  the  work  of  negotiation  went  on 
apace.  With  the  fleets  and  armies  of  the  allies  in  their 
immediate  presence,  and  the  American  and  Russian 
representatives  pressing  their  demands,  the  Chinese 
plenipotentiaries  were  at  last  awakened  to  the  necessity 
of  prompt  and  decisive  action.  Within  a week  after 
the  negotiations  were  begun  the  Russian  treaty  was 
signed,  the  American  soon  followed,  and  the  British 
and  French  were  concluded  within  three  weeks. 

The  Chinese  commissioners  proposed  that  the  nego- 
tiations be  conducted  in  the  presence  of  all  the  foreign 
representatives,  but  there  were  obvious  objections  to 
this  method,  and  they  were  carried  on  separately  with 
each  minister.  The  British  and  French  envoys  went  in 
great  state,  with  large  and  brilliant  escorts  as  befitted 
their  warlike  surroundings,  to  meet  the  Chinese  pleni- 
potentiaries ; but  the  American  and  Russian  ministers 
visited  them  only  with  their  secretaries  and  a small 
escort  of  sailors.  The  Chinese  commissioners,  it  is 
reported,  were  men  of  dignified  bearing  and  their 
whole  tone  and  deportment  were  very  striking. 

Mr.  Reed  was  assisted  in  his  negotiations  by  Dr.  S. 
Wells  Williams,  who  had  taken  so  prominent  a part 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


239 


m Commodore  Perry’s  negotiations  in  Japan,  and  be- 
came secretary  of  legation  upon  the  promotion  of  Dr. 
Parker ; and  also  by  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  a Presbyte- 
rian missionary,  who  was  familiar  with  the  Mandarin 
dialect,  and  who  filled  an  important  role  in  later  Chi- 
nese affairs.  Dr.  Martin’s  early  acquaintance  with  the 
dialect  and  his  frank  manners  soon  won  the  confidence 
of  the  Chinese.  In  one  of  the  treaty  interviews  he 
presented  to  one  of  the  commissioners  an  almanac  in 
Chinese  compiled  by  the  missionaries,  containing  a 
variety  of  matter.  At  the  next  conference  the  com- 
missioner pointed  in  the  pubhcation  to  the  tenth  com- 
mandment forbidding  to  covet,  and  begged  him  to 
circulate  such  tracts  freely  among  the  English,  to  lead 
them  to  observe  it  in  their  intercourse  with  the  Chi- 
nese. 

When  the  negotiations  were  about  to  be  entered 
upon,  there  appeared  upon  the  scene  Kiying,  the  Chi- 
nese plenipotentiary  in  the  negotiation  of  the  British 
treaty  of  1842,  that  with  Mr.  Cushing  and  with  the 
French  of  1844,  and  who  was  for  several  years  the  best 
known  statesman  of  the  empire.  He  had  fallen  into 
disgrace  for  agreeing  to  these  treaties  and  for  his  sup- 
posed friendliness  to  foreigners.  The  decree  of  the 
emperor  by  which  he  was  degraded  in  1850  is  a curious 
exhibition  of  the  spirit  of  the  government : As  for 

Kiying,  his  unpatriotic  and  pusillanimous  conduct  is  to 
us  a matter  of  unmixed  astonishment.  When  he  was 
at  Canton  he  seemed  only  anxious  to  make  our  people 
serve  the  interests  of  foreigners.  Kecently,  during  a 
private  audience,  he  .spoke  to  us  of  the  English,  how 


240 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


greatly  they  were  to  be  dreaded,  urging  a mild  and 
conciliatory  policy.  . . . The  more  he  speaks  the  more 
does  he  expose  himself,  so  that  at  the  last  we  have 
come  to  entertain  for  him  the  same  contempt  we  feel 
for  a yelping  cur.” 

He  had  doubtless  taken  advantage  of  the  panic 
created  at  court  by  the  advance  of  the  allies  to  Tien- 
tsin, and  sought  to  reinstate  himself  in  favor  by  mak- 
ing the  emperor  believe  he  could  be  of  special  service 
with  the  foreigners,  and  he  was  given  an  independent 
commission  to  treat  with  the  envoys.  His  true  charac- 
ter of  duplicity  and  untruthfulness  had  been  revealed 
to  the  allies  by  the  documents  captured  at  Canton, 
and  they  refused  to  receive  him.  The  American  and 
Russian  ministers,  however,  out  of  regard  for  his  past 
services,  his  old  age,  and  misfortunes,  received  and 
returned  his  visit,  but  held  no  negotiations  with  him. 
He  suddenly  disappeared  from  Tientsin,  and  on  his 
return  to  Peking  there  was  sent  him  a silken  scarf  from 
the  emperor’s  hand,  in  Our  extreme  desire  to  be  at 
once  just  and  gracious,”  which  was  the  imperial  indica- 
tion that  he  would  be  permitted  to  save  his  family  from 
any  stain  of  disgrace  by  putting  an  end  to  his  own  life 
by  strangulation,  in  lieu  of  his  decapitation  by  the 
executioner.  And  thus  disappeared  from  the  stage  of 
public  affairs  the  most  prominent  Chinese  statesman 
of  his  generation. 

There  are  some  indications  in  the  official  documents 
of  a certain  degree  of  friction  between  the  envoys  of 
the  allies  and  the  two  neutral  ministers,  and  the  con- 
temporaneous accounts  speak  of  the  jealousy  of  the 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


241 


latter  entertained  by  the  former.  But  happily  the 
rough  places  in  their  intercourse  were  smoothed  over, 
and  at  the  end  of  the  negotiations  a friendly  and  some- 
what cordial  relation  was  resumed.  Dr.  Williams,  the 
American  secretary,  in  his  private  diary,  refers  to  the 
disposition  of  Baron  Gros  to  be  less  exacting  than  Lord 
Elgin,  and  to  the  Russian  constantly  watching  the 
aUies,  greatly  to  the  annoyance  of  the  British  earl,  and 
he  sums  up  the  situation  as  follows : The  position  of 

the  four  ministers  here  is,  indeed,  something  like  that 
of  four  whist  players,  each  of  whom  makes  an  infer- 
ence as  to  the  other’s  remaining  suits  and  honors  from 
the  cards  they  throw  down.  Now,  of  course  the  Rus- 
sian and  American  are  partners,  but  if  the  Englishman 
were  more  hon  homme  and  open  he  might  readily  have 
the  Yankee  to  his  aid  against  the  others  if  there  was 
any  need  of  that  kind.” 

First  in  order  of  signature  was  the  Russian  treaty 
and  the  American  was  signed  a few  days  afterwards, 
but  the  British  negotiations  dragged  and  the  French 
envoy,  out  of  deference  to  his  ally,  deferred  the  sign- 
ing of  his  convention.  The  British  were  pushing  de- 
mands not  insisted  upon  by  the  other  powers,  and  they 
could  only  be  obtained  by  coercive  measures.  The  re- 
ports in  the  Blue  Books  and  the  London  newspapers 
show  that  Mr.  Lay,  who  personally  conducted  the  nego- 
tiations for  Lord  Elgin,  when  he  found  the  Chinese 
commissioners  obdurate,  was  accustomed  to  raise  his 
voice,”  charge  them  with  having  violated  their  pledged 
word,”  and  threaten  them  with  Lord  Elgin’s  displeasure 
and  the  march  of  the  British  troops  to  Peking.  And 


242  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

when  this  failed  to  bring  them  to  terms  a strong  de- 
tachment of  the  British  army  was  marched  through 
Tientsin  to  strike  terror  into  its  officials  and  inhabit- 
ants. Lord  Elgin  in  his  diary  records  the  climax  of 
these  demonstrations  : ‘‘  I have  not  written  for  some 
days,  but  they  have  been  busy  ones.  We  went  on 
fighting  and  bullying,  and  getting  the  poor  commis- 
sioners to  concede  one  point  after  another,  till  Friday 
the  25th.”  The  next  day  the  treaty  was  signed,  and 
he  closes  the  record  as  follows : Though  I have  been 

forced  to  act  almost  brutally,  I am  China’s  friend  in  all 
this.”  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  notwithstanding 
the  seeming  paradox.  Lord  Elgin  was  thoroughly  sin- 
cere in  this  declaration,  and  that  his  entire  conduct  was 
influenced  by  a high  sense  of  duty  and  by  what  he 
regarded  as  the  best  interests  of  China. 

The  four  treaties,  negotiated  separately,  have  a gen- 
eral similarity  in  their  stipulations,  and  as  each  con- 
tains the  most  favored  nation  ” clause,  the  special 
stipulations  of  any  became  effective  for  all  the  powers. 
The  important  features  of  the  treaties  of  Tientsin  of 
1858  over  those  of  1842  and  1844  were  the  conces- 
sions, first,  as  to  diplomatic  privileges,  second,  as  to 
enlarged  trade  and  travel,  and  third,  as  to  religious  toler- 
ation. Direct  means  of  access  to  the  government  were 
provided,  and  the  right  of  visit  and  residence  of  diplo- 
matic representatives  at  Peking  was  secured.  The 
stipulations  as  to  trade,  travel,  residence,  ownership  of 
property,  duties,  etc.,  which  had  proved  so  defective  or 
inefficiently  enforced  under  the  earlier  treaties,  were 
enlarged  and  made  more  specific  in  their  terms. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


243 


The  provision  guaranteeing  the  toleration  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  protection  of  Chinese  converts  was  an 
unexpected  success.  The  French  envoy  was  interested 
in  securing  greater  immunity  to  Catholic  missionaries, 
who  were  all  under  French  protection,  but  the  Ameri- 
can and  British  ministers  did  not  expect  to  go  beyond 
securing  religious  liberty  to  their  own  countrymen  in 
China.  Dr.  Martin  says  that  Mr.  Reed  was  indifferent 
to  the  subject,  and  he  states  that  this  article,  now  the 
chief  glory  of  the  treaty,”  was  suggested  and  success- 
fully pressed  by  Dr.  Williams.  At  the  close  of  the 
latter’s  long  career,  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  accepting 
his  resignation,  wrote  : Above  all,  the  Christian  world 

will  not  forget  that  to  you  more  than  to  any  other 
man  is  due  the  insertion  in  our  treaty  with  China  of 
the  liberal  provision  for  the  toleration  of  the  Christian 
religion.” 

After  the  signature  of  the  treaties  the  envoys  re- 
turned to  Shanghai,  and  there  negotiated  trade  regula- 
tions and  a revision  of  the  tariff.  Mr.  Reed  likewise 
agreed  with  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  upon  a con- 
vention for  the  settlement  of  the  claims  of  American 
citizens  against  China,  and  thereby  brought  to  a con- 
clusion a subject  which  had  received  the  attention  of 
the  two  preceding  ministers.  It  was  agreed  to  accept 
in  satisfaction  of  these  claims  the  lump  sum  of  500,000 
taels,  the  equivalent  of  $735,288,  which  was  consider- 
ably less  than  the  total  amount  of  the  claims  urged 
upon  the  Chinese  government. 

For  the  adjudication  of  these  claims  a commission  of 
American  citizens  was  appointed,  and  they  were  all 


244 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


examined  and  passed  upon  in  China.  The  greater  por- 
tion of  them  had  their  origin  in  the  loss  of  property 
occasioned  by  the  British  hostilities  at  and  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Canton,  and  many  of  those  allowed  were  of  ques- 
tionable validity  in  international  law.  After  all  the 
claims  awarded  had  been  paid,  and  a considerable 
amount  which  was  rejected  by  the  commission  had  been 
allowed  by  Congress,  there  still  remained  a large  por- 
tion of  the  fund  in  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 
In  1885,  Congress,  responding  to  the  sense  of  justice 
and  fair  dealing  of  the  American  people,  authorized  the 
President  to  return  the  balance  in  the  treasury  to  China, 
and  the  sum  of  $453,400  was  paid  over  to  the  Chinese 
minister  at  Washington,  and  by  him  received  with 
feelings  of  kindness  and  admiration  ’’  on  behalf  of 
his  government. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  claims  convention,  Mr. 
Reed  proceeded  to  Hongkong,  and  there  being  informed 
by  the  Department  of  State  of  the  acceptance  of  his 
resignation,  which  he  had  tendered  on  the  conclusion  of 
his  labors  at  Tientsin,  he  placed  the  legation  in  charge 
of  the  secretary.  Dr.  Williams,  and  in  December,  1858, 
returned  to  the  United  States.  Soon  after  his  arrival 
at  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  he  delivered  a pubhc  ad- 
dress, reviewing  his  work  in  China,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  made  some  criticism  of  his  foreign  colleagues. 
It  was  an  indiscretion  which  has  been  committed  by 
other  returning  American  ministers,  but  is  none  the 
less  censurable.  In  most  other  respects  his  services  in 
an  important  epoch  in  the  relations  of  the  United  States 
with  China  have  been  deservedly  commended.^ 

1 S.  Ex.  Doc.  47,  35th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  30,  36th  Cong.  1st 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


245 


One  of  the  few  messages  which  passed  over  the  At- 
lantic cable  of  1858  before  its  connection  was  broken 
was  the  news  of  peace  with  China  and  the  signature  of 
the  treaties  at  Tientsin,  which  seemed  to  secure  satisfac- 
tory relations  with  that  empire  for  the  future.  But 
the  sequel  proved  that  these  were  vain  hopes,  as  the 
Chinese  were  doomed  to  greater  humiliation  and  pun- 
ishment before  they  would  consent  to  place  their  gov- 
ernment upon  an  equal  footing  with  the  other  powers 
of  the  world. 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Reed  was  John  E.  Ward,  of 
Georgia,  a lawyer  by  education,  little  known  outside  of 
his  own  State  before  his  appointment  except  as  presid- 
ing officer  of  the  convention  which  nominated  Buchanan 
for  the  presidency,  and  without  diplomatic  experience. 
When  he  arrived  at  Hongkong  in  May,  1859,  he  found 
a British  minister  at  that  place  and  a French  minister 
at  Macao,  who  had  been  recently  appointed  to  exchange 
the  ratifications  of  their  treaties  and  take  up  their  resi- 
dence at  Peking.  Mr.  Ward’s  instructions  from  Wash- 
ington were  likewise  to  proceed  to  Peking  and  exchange 
ratifications  of  the  American  treaty.  Upon  reaching 
Hongkong  he  sent  each  of  these  ministers  a letter  noti- 
fying them  of  his  appointment  and  arrival,  and  as  soon 
as  the  Powhatan,  the  naval  vessel  assigned  to  his  use, 

Sess.  1-541  ; Williams’s  Life  and  Letters,  chaps,  vii.  and  viii.;  Williams’s 
Hist,  of  China,  chap,  vi.;  Martin’s  Cathay,  pt.  i.  chaps,  x.  and  xi.;  N.  A. 
Rev.  Oct.  1859,  p.  518  ; Jan.  1860,  p.  125  ; Littell’s  Liv.  Age,  Oct.  1858, 
p.  383  ; Walroud’s  Life  and  Letters  of  Lord  Elgin,  252.  As  to  claims. 
Ex.  Doc.  30  (cited),  12,  101,  521  ; H.  Ex.  Doc.  20,  40th  Cong.  3d  Sess. ; 
U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1885,  p.  183.  For  text  of  treaty  of  1858,  U.  S.  Treaties 
(ed.  1889),  159. 


246  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

was  ready,  he  set  out  for  Peking  by  way  of  the  Peiho, 
without  waiting  for  his  British  and  French  colleagues. 

Hearing,  however,  that  the  Chinese  commissioners 
who  had  negotiated  the  treaties  of  Tientsin  were  at 
Shanghai,  he  called  at  that  port  to  confer  with  them. 
He  learned  from  them  that  they  had  been  designated  to 
exchange  ratifications,  and  they  desired  him  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  other  ministers  and  proceed  with  the 
latter  to  Peking,  where  all  the  treaties  would  be  ex- 
changed at  the  same  time.  No  place  had  been  named 
in  the  American  treaty  for  its  exchange,  but  Peking 
was  fixed  in  the  other  three.  As  the  treaties  were 
at  Peking,  and  the  time  within  which  the  American 
treaty  was  to  be  exchanged  was  about  to  expire,  Mr. 
Ward  was  forced  to  comply  with  the  commissioners’ 
request. 

The  three  envoys  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Peiho 
about  the  same  time,  the  British  and  French  being  es- 
corted by  a considerable  naval  force,  the  American  only 
having  the  vessel,  which  brought  him,  and  a light- 
draught  chartered  steamer,  with  which  to  cross  the  bar 
and  ascend  the  Peiho.  The  Russian  treaty  had  already 
been  exchanged  and  its  minister  established  at  Peking. 
The  mouth  of  the  Peiho  was  found  to  be  closed  by  ob- 
structions, and  orders  were  given  to  allow  no  foreign 
vessel  to  enter  the  river  or  ascend  to  Tientsin.  The 
commander  of  the  British  squadron  informed  Mr.  W ard 
that  unless  the  obstructions  were  removed  he  would 
proceed  to  destroy  them  and  the  Taku  forts,  and  open 
by  force  the  way  for  his  minister  to  Peking.  Mr. 
Ward,  desiring  to  communicate  with  the  authorities. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


247 


and  also,  if  possible,  to  prevent  another  outbreak  of 
hostilities,  crossed  the  bar  in  company  with  Commodore 
Tatnall  of  the  Powhatan  in  the  small  steamer  Toeywan. 
Before  he  could  communicate  with  the  shore  the  Toey- 
wan grounded.  The  British  admiral,  seeing  the  steamer 
was  placed  in  the  immediate  locality  of  the  prospective 
hostilities,  sent  a steam  tug  to  her  rehef  and  sought  in 
vain  to  get  her  afloat.  Drs.  Williams  and  Martin,  secre- 
tary and  interpreter  of  the  legation,  went  on  shore  in  a 
small  boat  and  were  informed  that  no  one  would  be 
permitted  to  ascend  the  river,  but  that  the  governor- 
general  of  the  province  would  meet  the  envoys  at  the 
north  entrance  of  the  river,  about  ten  miles  away. 

The  next  day  Admiral  Hope,  the  British  commander, 
advanced  to  the  bar  with  the  intention  of  removing  the 
obstructions  from  the  river,  when  he  was  fired  upon  by 
the  Taku  forts.  A general  engagement  followed  be- 
tween the  forts  and  the  British  and  French  forces,  re- 
sulting in  the  complete  repulse  of  the  allies  with  heavy 
loss  of  vessels  and  men.  They  were  overwhelmed  with 
surprise  at  the  effective  defense  of  the  Chinese,  who 
had  evidently  profited  by  the  experience  of  the  engage- 
ment the  year  before. 

The  American  minister  and  commodore  were  enforced 
witnesses  of  the  contest.  The  little  steamer  on  which 
they  were  had  been  floated  off  by  the  tide,  but  could 
not  pass  through  the  line  of  battle.  In  the  midst  of 
the  conflict  Commodore  Tatnall,  hearing  that  Admiral 
Hope  was  dangerously  wounded  and  his  vessel  disabled, 
hastened  with  a boat’s  crew,  as  the  minister  reports, 

not  to  assist  him  in  the  fight,  but  to  give  his  sympa- 


248 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


thy  to  a wounded  brother  officer  whom  he  saw  about  to 
suffer  a most  mortifying  and  unexpected  defeat.”  Tat- 
nalFs  coxswain  was  killed  at  his  side  in  the  passage, 
and  although  the  visit  was  intended  to  be  one  only  of 
sympathy,  his  boat’s  crew,  finding  only  three  men  on 
the  admiral’s  ship  able  for  duty,  while  the  commodore 
tendered  his  sympathy  to  the  admiral,  assisted  in  work- 
ing the  guns. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  commodore,  in  his  enthusiasm, 
used  his  steamer  to  tow  into  the  engagement  several 
barges  loaded  with  British  marines  which  could  not 
make  head  against  the  wind  and  tide.  Besides,  the 
steamer  was  of  service  in  rescuing  the  wounded  and 
taking  them  outside  of  the  line  of  fire.  Tatnall’s  de- 
fense of  his  conduct  was  that  blood  was  thicker  than 
water ; ” that  he  could  not  refrain  from  aid  when  kins- 
men were  in  distress ; and  that  he  was  only  reciprocat- 
ing the  kindness  of  the  admiral  of  the  day  before  in 
sending  his  tug  to  draw  his  vessel  off  the  bar.  The 
commodore’s  gallant  conduct  made  him  famous,  but 
Mr.  Ward  soon  felt  the  influence  of  it  in  his  intercourse 
with  the  Chinese  officials. 

The  allied  forces,  after  their  unexpected  defeat,  with- 
drew to  Shanghai.  The  Engfish  and  French  ministers 
broke  off  all  negotiations,  and  were  exceedingly  anx- 
ious ” that  Mr.  Ward  should  likewise  do  so.  But  he 
said  to  the  Secretary  of  State  : The  path  of  my  duty 

seems  to  me  to  be  very  plain.  I arrived  here  with  the 
English  and  French  ministers,  not  as  an  ally,  but  because 
the  Chinese  commissioners  insisted  on  my  coming  with 
them ; ” that  on  his  arrival  at  Hongkong  he  left  there 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


249 


immediately,  to  avoid  complications  with  other  powers ; 
and  that  he  thought  he  should  continue  to  seek  to  carry 
out  his  instructions  to  proceed  to  Peking  and  exchange 
ratifications  of  the  treaty. 

Accordingly  he  went  to  the  place  designated  for  his 
meeting  with  the  governor-general,  was  received  by  him 

with  every  demonstration  of  respect,”  and  informed 
by  that  official  that  he  was  directed  by  the  emperor  to 
escort  him  to  Peking.  Without  much  delay  he  and  his 
suite  of  thirty  persons  were  conducted  to  the  capital. 
Dr.  Martin  records  : We  were  the  guests  of  the  em- 

peror, and  our  wants  were  provided  for  with  imperial 
munificence.”  The  minister  was  met  by  the  treaty 
commissioners,  whom  he  had  left  at  Shanghai,  and  in 
the  first  conference  with  them  he  was  told  that  an 
interview  with  his  Majesty  the  Emperor  was  absolutely 
necessary  before  any  other  business  could  be  transacted 
in  the  capital,”  and  that  he  would  have  to  practice 
the  rites  and  ceremonies  necessary  to  be  observed  for 
several  days  before  the  audience  could  take  place.” 
Thereupon  a long  discussion  ensued,  continuing  through 
two  weeks,  as  to  the  manner  of  conducting  this  audi- 
ence. The  Chinese  commissioners  first  insisted  that 
Mr.  Ward  should  observe  the  universal  custom  at  court 
and  perform  the  kotou,  or  prostration,  before  the  em- 
peror, and  when  met  by  an  indignant  and  absolute 
refusal,  they  offered  to  waive  that  ceremony  if  he  would 
kneel  on  both  knees,  but  finally  expressed  a willingness 
to  accept  an  obeisance  on  one  knee  from  the  American 
minister.  This  matter  had  been  the  subject  of  discus- 
sion between  Lord  Elgin  and  the  Chinese  at  Tientsin, 


250 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


and  while  the  noble  lord  had  stoutly  refused  to  fall 
upon  both  knees  in  presence  of  his  Celestial  Majesty, 
he  had  consented  to  bow  on  one  knee,  and  this  fact 
was  urged  upon  the  American  envoy.  But  Mr.  Ward 
was  obdurate ; in  the  spirit  of  the  Southern  cavalier  he 
answered,  I kneel  only  to  God  and  woman.”  The 
emperor,”  rejoined  the  Chinese,  ^^is  the  same  as  God.” 
The  republican  representative  was  not  convinced,  and 
he  said  that  he  would  do  only  that  which  was  required 
by  the  President  of  his  own  country  in  receiving  foreign 
ministers ; he  would  bow  respectfully,  and  do  nothing 
more. 

It  seems  strange  at  this  day  that  a discussion  of  this 
character  should  be  prolonged  through  weeks,  and  in 
the  end  result  in  the  dismissal  from  the  capital  of  the 
representative  of  a great  nation,  but  the  question  was 
regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  one  of  supreme  importance. 
Their  ruler  was  in  their  eyes  of  divine  origin  and  au- 
thority, and  the  ceremony  of  prostration  in  his  presence 
had  been  practiced  for  countless  ages  as  an  act  not  only 
of  respect  but  of  worship,  and  of  recognition  of  his 
exaltation  above  all  earthly  powers.  Lord  Elgin  wrote 
the  British  government  that  to  disregard  the  ancient 
customs,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Chinese,  would  shake 
the  stability  of  the  empire,  by  impairing  the  emperor’s 
prestige.”  It  would  do  great  violence  to  the  education 
and  national  pride  of  the  court  councilors  to  agree  to 
forego  the  kotou,  and  it  was  regarded  by  them  as  a 
great  concession,  a mark  of  gracious  condescension,  and 
the  highest  evidence  of  friendship,  to  admit  the  Amer- 
ican minister  into  the  emperor’s  presence  with  the  sim- 
ple act  of  an  obeisance  upon  one  knee. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


251 


No  agreement  could  be  reached  as  to  the  audience, 
and  Mr.  Ward  was  told  that  consequently  no  other 
business  could  be  transacted  at  the  capital.  He  claimed 
that,  as  the  British  treaty  provided  for  the  exchange  of 
its  ratifications  at  Peking,  under  the  most  favored  nation 
treatment  he  was  entitled  to  have  the  American  treaty 
exchanged  there  also.  But  the  Chinese  answered  that 
the  British  treaty  was  not  yet  in  force,  and  hence  its 
privileges  could  not  be  availed  of  by  other  powers. 
As  the  American  treaty  was  silent  respecting  the  place 
of  exchange,  Mr.  Ward  was  forced  to  accept  the  Chinese 
proposal  to  make  the  exchange  of  ratifications  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Peiho. 

The  commissioners,  however,  agreed  to  one  exception 
to  the  resolution  to  allow  no  business  to  be  transacted 
by  Mr.  Ward  at  the  capital.  The  President’s  autograph 
letter  to  the  emperor,  which  should  have  been  delivered 
at  the  audience  that  never  took  place,  was  upon  the 
emperor’s  appointment  received  by  Kweiliang,  one  of 
the  treaty  commissioners,  who,  Mr.  Ward  writes,  was 
the  emperor’s  prime  minister,  and  the  second  man  in 
the  empire  to  the  emperor  himself.  It  was  received  by 
him  with  every  mark  of  respect  — elevating  it  above  his 
eyes,  he  placed  it  upon  a table,  under  a guard  of  honor, 
until  it  could  be  conveyed  to  the  emperor.” 

The  minister  and  his  suite,  while  outwardly  treated 
with  civility,  were  kept  virtually  as  prisoners  during 
their  stay  at  the  capital,  their  quarters  being  guarded 
by  soldiers,  and  no  one  permitted  to  communicate  with 
them.  Anticipating  the  visit  to  Peking,  the  Secretary 
of  State  had  solicited  of  the  Kussian  government  the 


252  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

good  offices  of  its  minister,  then  resident  there,  and  that 
minister  made  efforts  to  communicate  with  Mr.  Ward, 
but  all  his  letters  were  withheld,  and  his  messengers 
and  members  of  his  suite  were  refused  access  to  the 
American  quarters. 

His  mission  to  the  capital  ha^dng  proved  fruitless, 
Mr.  Ward  returned  to  Pehtang,  situated  on  one  of  the 
mouths  of  the  Peiho,  where  he  had  landed,  and  there, 
with  every  mark  of  respect,’’  the  exchange  of  the 
treaty  was  effected  with  the  governor-general  of  the 
province.  During  the  discussions  at  Peking  reference 
was  made  to  the  acts  of  Commodore  Tatnall,  and  it  was 
stated  that  the  emperor  required  the  kotou  in  proof 
of  sincere  repentance  ” for  the  aid  rendered  the  British. 
After  the  treaty  had  been  exchanged,  the  governor- 
general  stated  that  his  Majesty  had  directed  him,  as 
a mark  of  his  pecidiar  favor  to  the  minister,  to  deliver 
to  him  an  American  prisoner  taken  at  the  attack  upon 
the  forts.  The  prisoner  when  brought  in  acknowledged 
that  he  was  a Canadian  in  the  British  navy,  and  to 
secure  better  treatment  he  had  told  the  Chinese  that 
he  was  an  American,  and  that  there  was  a body  of  two 
hundred  Americans  who  took  part  in  the  attack. 

The  course  pursued  by  Mr.  Ward  after  the  allies  re- 
tired from  the  Peiho  exposed  him  to  the  criticism  of  his 
colleagues  and  to  the  ridicule  of  the  press,  but  it  was  in 
line  vdth  his  instructions,  and  met  with  the  approval  of 
his  government.  His  treatment  at  Peking  was  an  affront 
to  himself  and  his  country,  but  one  which  he  could  not 
well  have  anticipated,  and  through  which  he  bore  him- 
self with  dignity  and  self-possession.  It  was  a part  of 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


253 


the  policy  adopted  by  his  government  even  to  accept 
affronts  with  forbearance  and  exercise  patience  towards 
a people  with  very  different  traits  of  national  character 
and  education.  And  yet  the  Chinese  regarded  the 
American  minister  as  very  unreasonable,  and  as  having 
treated  the  emperor  with  disrespect  ’’  in  not  accepting 
the  form  of  audience  offered  him. 

The  Chinese  mission  did  not  prove  a very  attractive 
field  for  American  statesmen.  Messrs. ' McLane  and 
Reed  had  asked  to  be  relieved  within  a year  after  arrival 
at  their  posts  ; and  Mr.  Ward  wrote  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Peiho,  following  the  British  defeat  at  the  Taku 
forts,  less  than  four  months  after  reaching  Hongkong, 
for  permission  to  return  home.  On  arriving  at  Can- 
ton, after  his  somewhat  inglorious  visit  to  Peking,  he 
received  this  permission,  and  in  December,  1859,  Dr. 
Williams  assumed  charge  of  the  legation.^ 

The  events  in  China  of  the  eighteen  months  which 
followed  were  memorable  in  its  history  and  of  vast  con- 
sequence to  its  future  ; but  in  them  the  United  States 
took  little  part.  A change  of  administration  and  the 
civil  war  in  America  were  impending,  absorbing  the  at- 
tention of  the  government,  and  a new  minister  was  not 
sent  to  the  country  till  the  events  there  in  progress  had 
their  consummation.  The  British  and  French  allied 
forces  had  demanded  and  sought  to  exercise  the  right 

^ S.  Ex.  Doc.  30  (cited),  569-624  ; Martin’s  Cathay,  pt.  i.  chap,  xii.; 
Williams’s  Life  and  Letters,  chap,  ix.;  Harper’s  Mag.  Oct.  1898,  p.  747. 
As  to  kotouj  S.  Ex.  Doc.  30,  p.  595  ; Martin’s  Cathay,  199  ; N.  A.  Rev. 
Jan.  1860,  pp.  159,  166;  1 Davis’s  The  Chinese,  97;  Histoire  des  Rela- 
tions Politiques  . . . Suivie  du  Cdrdmonial  observd  k la  conr  de  Peking 
pour  la  Reception  des  Ambassadeurs,  G.  Pauthier,  Paris,  1859. 


254  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

to  ascend  one  of  the  rivers  of  China  to  an  interior  city, 
which  was  not  open  to  foreign  trade  and  travel.  The 
imperial  authorities  asked  their  envoys  to  land  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  and  go  to  Peking  under  Chinese 
escort.  The  Chinese  were  technically  right  in  their 
position,  and  for  a third  time  the  British  began  hostili- 
ties against  China  upon  an  issue  in  which  they  were  in 
the  wrong.  And  yet  the  treatment  of  the  American 
minister  at  Peking  proved  that  the  Chinese  could  not 
be  brought  to  a faithful  observance  of  the  treaties  ex- 
cept by  further  coercive  measures. 

In  1860  Lord  Elgin  and  Baron  Gros  were  again  sent 
out,  backed  by  a large  naval  and  land  force  of  the  allied 
powers.  The  Taku  forts  were  a third  time  assaulted, 
and  with  success,  and  a formidable  army  marched  over- 
land to  the  capital  and  there  dictated  peace,  the  emperor 
and  his  court  fleeing  to  the  north,  and  his  palace  being 
plundered  and  burned.  The  treaties  of  Tientsin  were 
ratified  and  exchanged,  Tientsin  was  opened  to  foreign 
trade,  indemnities  and  a cession  of  territory  were  ex- 
acted because  of  the  war,  and  the  right  of  diplomatic 
residence  at  Peking  and  equality  of  official  intercourse 
were  guaranteed.^ 

The  second  stage  in  the  advancement  of  China  to  a 
proper  position  among  the  nations  was  thus  brought 
about  by  the  rough  argument  of  war.  The  journey 
yet  unaccomphshed  was  to  be  made  with  reluctant  and 

^ McCarthy’s  Hist.  chap,  xlii.;  Boulger’s  Hist  China,  267  ; Williams’s 
Hist.  China,  319;  Personal  Narrative  of  Occurrences  during  Lord  Elgin’s 
Second  Embassy  to  China,  1860,  by  H.  B.  Loch,  London,  1870  ; Narrative 
of  the  War  with  China  in  1860,  by  Lord  Wolseley,  London,  1862. 


THE  CRUMBLING  WALL  OF  CHINA 


255 


painful  steps,  sometimes  by  diplomatic  pressure,  and 
sometimes  by  force  of  arms.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
United  States,  still  persisting  in  its  policy  of  peace,  con- 
tinued its  cooperation  with  the  European  powers  in 
breaking  down  the  ancient  barriers  of  conservatism 
and  arrogance,  while  at  the  same  time  not  unmindful 
of  the  forbearance  due  to  that  country  because  of  those 
peculiar  traits  of  its  government  and  people. 


VIII 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 

The  reorganization  of  the  Chinese  government,  after 
the  evacuation  of  the  capital  by  the  allies  in  1860,  gave 
evidence  that  the  lesson  so  rudely  taught  by  the  for- 
eign armies  was  to  be  of  profit  to  the  empire.  Hitherto 
what  little  attention  had  been  bestowed  upon  foreign 
affairs  was  intrusted  to  the  Colonial  Board,  the  depart- 
ment which  had  to  do  with  the  intercourse  of  the  tribu- 
tary nations,  Korea,  Annam,  and  other  adjacent  coun- 
tries. Yielding  to  the  demand  of  the  envoys  of  the 
allied  powers,  a board  of  foreign  affairs  was  organized, 
termed  the  Tsung-li  Yamen.  With  this  department 
the  diplomatic  representatives,  whose  permanent  resi- 
dence at  Peking  had  been  secured  as  the  chief  result 
of  the  war,  were  to  hold  direct  intercourse,  and  with  it 
their  business  was  to  be  transacted. 

The  emperor,  who  had  fled  at  the  approach  of  the 
allied  armies,  having  died  soon  after  their  withdrawal 
from  the  capital,  was  succeeded  by  his  infant  son,  and 
upon  the  organization  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  Prince 
Rung,  an  uncle  of  the  young  ruler,  was  designated  as 
its  president.  He  was  a man  of  intelligence  and  proved 
to  be  a wise  statesman  with  liberal  tendencies,  who 
recognized  the  necessity  of  his  country’s  maintaining 
intercourse  with  the  outside  nations.  With  him  was 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  257 

associated  Kweiliang,  who  had  conducted  the  negotia- 
tions at  Tientsin  in  1858,  where  he  had  exhibited  much 
skill  and  fitness  for  diplomatic  duties.  The  third  mem- 
ber of  this  board,  as  at  first  organized,  was  Wensiang, 
a Manchu  mandarin,  a man  of  marked  ability,  saga- 
cious and  enlightened,  who  realized  better  than  any 
other  of  its  public  men  the  real  situation  of  the  empire. 
For  fifteen  years,  until  his  death  in  1875,  he  was  the 
controlling  spirit  in  the  Foreign  Office,  the  foremost 
Chinese  statesman  of  his  day,  and  his  country’s  most 
useful  public  servant.  With  these  men  the  diplomatic 
representatives  of  the  Western  nations  had  to  do,  and 
they  proved  worthy  compeers  in  urbanity,  astuteness, 
and  capacity  for  public  affairs. 

The  American  representative  who  was  to  enter  upon 
this  new  field  of  diplomacy,  and  who  was  destined  to  a 
career  greatly  distinguished  above  his  colleagues,  re- 
ceived his  appointment  to  the  post  through  a chance 
turn  in  pohtical  affairs.  Anson  Burhngame,  a member 
of  Congress  from  Massachusetts,  a man  of  accomplished 
manners  and  possessing  considerable  oratorical  gifts, 
had  come  prominently  into  public  notice  during  the 
exciting  period  preceding  the  Civil  War  in  the  United 
States.  He  was  best  known  for  his  ready  acceptance 
of  the  challenge  to  a duel  sent  him  by  Brooks,  of  South 
Carolina,  because  of  his  denunciation  of  the  latter  for 
his  brutal  assault  upon  Charles  Sumner  in  the  senate 
chamber.  When  President  Lincoln  came  to  allot  the 
offices  to  his  adherents,  Mr.  Burlingame  was  appointed 
minister  to  Austria.  Beaching  Paris  on  his  way  to  his 
post  at  Vienna,  he  was  detained  by  notice  that  the 


258  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Austrian  court  was  disinclined  to  receive  him  because 
he  had  in  Congress  expressed  sympathy  with  the  Hun- 
garian patriot  Kossuth  and  with  the  rising  Italian 
kingdom  of  Victor  Emmanuel.  In  this  dilemma  the 
mission  to  China,  which  had  remained  vacant  for  some 
time,  was  offered  him,  and  Mr.  Burhngame  reluctantly 
changed  his  journey  from  Vienna  to  Peking. 

He  reached  Canton  in  November,  1861.  Before 
repairing  to  his  post  at  Peking  he  spent  several  months 
at  the  treaty  ports,  familiarizing  himself  with  the  state 
of  affairs  and  with  American  interests  in  those  locali- 
ties, and  he  did  not  reach  Peking  till  July,  1862.  The 
British,  French,  and  Russian  ministers  had  been  for 
some  time  installed  in  their  legations,  and  the  Tsung-li 
Yamen  had  already  adapted  itself  to  the  changed  situa- 
tion. Mr.  Burlingame,  by  his  attractive  personahty 
and  genial  manners,  soon  established  pleasant  relations 
with  Prince  Rung  and  Wensiang,  and  with  his  diplo- 
matic colleagues. 

He  entered  upon  his  mission  in  full  accord  with  the 
spirit  of  friendliness  and  forbearance  which  actuated 
his  government  towards  China.  Within  a short  time 
his  frankness  and  enthusiasm  had  so  w’on  the  confi- 
dence of  his  colleagues  that  he  brought  about  an  agree- 
ment between  them  to  adopt  what  he  termed  a policy 
of  cooperation  — an  effort  to  substitute  fair  diplomatic 
action  in  China  for  force  ’’  — whereby  on  all  questions 
of  general  interest  the  ministers  would  take  joint  ac- 
tion ; and  while  insisting  upon  the  faithful  observance 
of  the  treaties,  they  pledged  themselves  to  respect  the 
territorial  integrity  of  China,  to  do  what  they  properly 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  259 

could  to  support  the  imperial  government  against  the 
rebels,  and  not  to  interfere  with  the  government  in 
internal  affairs,  except  in  cases  of  extreme  necessity. 

This  friendly  action  of  the  American  minister  was 
highly  appreciated  by  the  Tsung-li  Yamen.  When 
soon  afterwards  the  Confederate  cruiser  Alabama  ap- 
peared in  the  China  seas,  where  it  had  destroyed  sev- 
eral American  vessels,  Mr.  Burlingame  requested  the 
Chinese  government  to  forbid  her  entrance  into  any  of 
its  ports  or  to  allow  its  subjects  to  furnish  any  sup- 
plies, an  edict  was  promptly  issued  commanding  the 
authorities  to  keep  a careful  and  close  oversight,  and 
if  the  steamer  Alabama,  or  any  other  vessel-of-war, 
scheming  how  it  can  injure  American  property,  ap- 
proach the  coasts  of  China,  under  their  jurisdiction, 
they  are  to  prevent  all  such  vessels  entering  our  ports.” 
Such  an  order  enforced  by  the  governments  of  Europe 
would  have  saved  the  American  commercial  marine 
from  destruction  and  shortened  the  Civil  War.  It  was 
a striking  evidence  of  the  influence  of  the  minister  and 
of  the  friendship  of  the  Chinese  government. 

During  Mr.  Burlingame’s  mission  an  interesting  in- 
cident occurred  which  illustrates  the  liberal  spirit  which 
animated  the  imperial  government  at  that  time.  Sen 
Ki-yu,  a Chinese  scholar  and  governor  of  a province, 
soon  after  the  British  treaty  of  1842  had  been  forced 
upon  the  government,  followed  by  that  of  1844  with 
the  United  States,  wrote  a book  in  which  he  sought  to 
show  his  educated  countrymen  that  the  people  of  the 
Western  nations  were  not  the  barbarians  they  were 
thought  to  be.  He  could  not  read  a word  of  any  other 


260  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

language  than  his  own,  and  obtained  his  information 
from  the  few  foreigners  he  met  at  the  open  ports  of 
Amoy  and  Fuchau.  It  contained  a geographical  and 
historical  notice  of  the  United  States  with  a eulogy  of 
some  length  upon  Washington,  the  spirit  of  which  may 
be  gathered  from  the  closing  paragraph.  It  appears 
from  the  above  that  Washington  was  a very  remarkable 
man.  In  devising  plans  he  was  more  daring  than  Chin 
Shing  or  Han  Kwang ; in  winning  a country  he  was 
braver  than  Tsau  Tsau  or  Lin  Pi  [Chinese  heroes]. 
Wielding  his  four-foot  falchion,  he  enlarged  the  fron- 
tiers myriads  of  miles,  and  yet  he  refused  to  usurp 
regal  dignity,  or  even  to  transmit  it  to  his  posterity ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  first  proposed  the  plan  of  electing 
men  to  office.  Where  in  the  world  can  be  found  a 
mode  more  equitable  ? It  is  the  same  idea,  in  fact, 
that  has  been  handed  down  to  us  from  the  three  reigns 
of  Yau,  Shun,  and  Yu.  In  ruling  the  state  he  honored 
and  fostered  good  usages,  and  did  not  exalt  military 
merit,  a principle  totally  unlike  what  is  found  in  other 
kingdoms.  I have  seen  his  portrait.  His  mien  and 
countenance  are  grand  and  impressive  in  the  highest 
degree.  Ah  ! who  is  there  that  does  not  call  him  a 
hero  ? ’’ 

For  writing  this  book  Sen  Ki-yu  was  removed  from 
his  office  of  governor,  was  degraded,  and  forced  to 
remain  in  private  life  for  sixteen  years.  Under  the 
new  regime  he  was  in  1866  recalled  to  public  life  and 
made  a member  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen.  The  attention 
of  Secretary  Seward  was  called  to  his  career  and  his 
eulogy  on  Washington,  and  as  a fitting  tribute  of 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  261 

respect,  he  ordered  a portrait  of  the  first  President  to 
be  painted,  and  it  was  presented  on  behalf  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  by  Mr.  Burlingame  in  an 
appropriate  address  to  Sen  Ki-yu,  in  the  presence  of 
his  colleagues  and  a distinguished  company  of  Chinese 
statesmen  and' scholars. 

Upon  his  appointment  to  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  he 
was  likewise  made  the  managing  director  of  the  Tung 
W en  Kwan,  or  Imperial  College,  which  had  been  estab- 
lished for  the  education  in  European  languages  and 
learning  of  a select  number  of  Chinese  youths  taken 
from  the  families  of  the  nobility  and  higher  officials. 
The  presidency  of  this  college  had  been  conferred  upon 
Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  the  American  Chinese  scholar, 
who  was  assisted  by  a corps  of  European  professors. 
Another  evidence,  reported  by  Minister  Burlingame,  of 
the  spirit  of  progress  of  the  government  and  its  accept- 
ance of  American  ideas,  was  the  publication  by  the 
Chinese  Foreign  Office  and  distribution  to  the  officials 
of  the  empire  of  a Chinese  version  of  Wheaton’s  trea- 
tise on  international  law,  translated  by  Dr.  Martin. 

During  the  term  of  Mr.  Burlingame’s  mission  no 
questions  of  serious  difficulty  arose  between  the  United 
States  and  China,  thanks  to  the  intelligent  policy  of 
the  Tsung-li  Yamen  and  to  the  tact  and  friendly  dispo- 
sition of  the  American  minister.  After  a residence  in 
Peking  of  six  years,  Mr.  Burlingame  decided  to  resign 
and  return  to  the  United  States  to  reenter  political 
life.^ 

1 As  to  Burlingame’s  appointment  as  minister,  see  MSS.  dispatches, 
Department  of  State,  1861,  Austria.  As  to  services  in  China,  U.  S. 


262  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

The  Tsung-li  Yamen  had  been  advised  of  his  inten- 
tion, and  appointed  a farewell  interview  at  the  foreign 
office.  During  an  exchange  of  compliments,  a sugges- 
tion was  made  by  Wensiang  that  in  passing  through 
Europe  on  his  return  to  the  United  States,  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame might  be  of  great  service  in  Paris  and  London 
by  friendly  representations  on  behalf  of  China.  He 
at  once  expressed  his  wilHngness  to  render  China  this 
service,  whereupon  Wensiang,  apparently  half  in  ear- 
nest and  half  in  compliment,  asked,  Why  will  you  not 
represent  us  officially  ? ” Mr.  Burlingame  reports  that 
he  repulsed  the  suggestion  playfully,  and  the  con- 
versation passed  to  other  topics.’’  Out  of  this  came 
his  actual  appointment  as  ambassador  of  China  to  the 
Western  powers. 

Dr.  Martin,  who  was  present  as  interpreter  at  the 
farewell  interview,  says  that  Mr.  Burlingame  on  his 
return  to  his  legation  called  upon  Robert  Hart,  a Brit- 
ish subject  at  the  head  of  the  Chinese  customs  service 
and  a confidential  adviser  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  and 
told  him  of  the  suggestion  which  had  been  made  to 
him.  Hart,  who  owed  much  to  Mr.  Burlingame  for 
his  advancement  in  the  Chinese  service,  undertook  to 
make  the  suggestion  a realization,  and  within  a few 
days  inquiry  was  made  of  Mr.  Burlingame  as  to  his 
wilHngness  to  accept  such  an  appointment,  and  the  im- 
perial edict  soon  followed.  In  tendering  his  resignation 
to  Secretary  Seward  before  accepting  this  appointment. 

Dip.  Cor.  1862-1868,  China  ; Williams’s  Letters,  chap.  x.  ; Martin’s 
Cathay,  pt.  ii.  chap.  ii.  As  to  Sen  Ki-yu,  U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1867,  pt.  i.  pp. 
453,  513  ; Speers ’s  China,  421  ; Williams’s  Letters,  417. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  263 

he  stated  that  he  did  so  in  the  interests  of  mj  coun- 
try and  civilization.  ...  I may  be  permitted  to  add 
that  when  the  oldest  nation  in  the  world,  containing 
one-third  of  the  human  race,  seeks,  for  the  first  time, 
to  come  into  relations  with  the  West,  and  requests  the 
youngest  nation,  through  its  representative,  to  act  as 
the  medium  of  such  change,  the  mission  is  one  not 
to  be  solicited  or  rejected.”  He  further  reported  that 
before  he  accepted  the  appointment  he  consulted  his 
diplomatic  colleagues,  who  heartily  approved  of  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Chinese  government,  and  pledged  him  their 
support  in  his  new  mission. 

The  emperor’s  edict  issued  in  November,  1867,  en- 
grossed on  yellow  silk  and  bearing  the  great  seal  of  the 
empire,  was  in  the  following  terse  terms : The  Envoy 

Anson  Burlingame  manages  affairs  in  a friendly  and 
peaceful  manner,  and  is  fully  acquainted  with  the  gen- 
eral relations  between  this  and  other  countries  ; let  him, 
therefore,  now  be  sent  to  all  the  treaty  powers  as  the 
high  minister,  empowered  to  attend  to  every  question  aris- 
ing between  China  and  those  countries.  This  from  the 
Emperor.”  Mr.  Burlingame  was  created  an  official  of 
the  first  or  highest  rank  in  the  Chinese  government, 
and  with  him  were  associated  two  Chinese  officials  of 
the  Tsung-li  Yamen  of  the  second  rank.  The  British 
secretary  of  legation  and  a French  official  in  the  Chi- 
nese service  were  made  secretaries  of  the  mission,  and 
there  was  added  a numerous  suite  of  translators,  clerks, 
and  attendants. 

The  embassy,  which  was  commissioned  to  visit  the 
eleven  Western  nations  with  which  China  had  treaties. 


264  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

came  first  to  the  United  States  and  reached  Washing- 
ton in  May,  1868.  From  its  landing  in  San  Francisco 
to  its  departure  from  New  York  for  Europe,  its  recep- 
tion was  of  the  most  cordial  character,  constituting 
one  continuous  ovation.  In  London  it  was  at  first  re- 
ceived with  coolness,  but  Mr.  Burlingame’s  enthusiastic 
temperament  and  persuasive  address  won  the  favor  of 
the  British  government  and  people.  At  a luncheon 
given  to  the  members  of  the  mission  in  Windsor  Cas- 
tle, after  being  received  by  the  queen.  Lord  Stanley 
said  : It  is  true  that  a certain  degree  of  opposition, 

originating  in  ignorance  of  the  real  object  of  the  Chi- 
nese mission,  coupled  with  a desire  to  adhere  to  the  old 
traditional  British  coercive  policy,  met  Mr.  Burlingame 
on  his  arrival  in  England,  but  this  has  passed  away. 
Mr.  Burlingame,  by  his  dignified  course,  and  feeling 
the  grandeur  and  importance  of  the  high  trust  confided 
to  his  care,  has  conducted  himself  in  such  a manner  as 
to  completely  disarm  opposition  and  create  a favorable 
impression  not  only  for  China,  but  for  the  United 
States.” 

The  reception  in  Paris  was  not  so  hearty  ; at  Berlin 
an  attentive  hearing  was  accorded  the  mission ; and 
thence  it  proceeded  to  St.  Petersburg.  But  at  the 
Russian  capital  Mr.  Burlingame  fell  ill  and  within  a 
few  days  succumbed  to  his  disease,  thus  ending  his 
brilliant  career.  That  he  was  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
mission  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  upon  his  death  it 
in  great  measure  ceased  its  efforts  and  returned  to  Pe- 
king, where  it  was  dissolved.  Even  the  two  associate 
Chinese  envoys,  whom  Prince  Rung  in  their  instruc- 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


265 


tions  declared  were  appointed  in  order  to  give  those 
high  officials  opportunity  to  acquire  practice  and  expe- 
rience in  diplomatic  duties/’  were  on  their  return  as- 
signed to  internal  positions  and  disappeared  from  public 
view. 

The  mission  had  its  origin  in  the  proposed  revision 
the  next  year  of  the  treaties  of  Tientsin  of  1858.  It 
had  for  its  object  the  solicitation  from  the  treaty  powers 
of  the  abandonment  of  the  policy  of  force  ; of  the 
treatment  of  China  on  an  equality  with  other  nations  ; 
of  forbearance  and  patience  in  allowing  it  to  work  out 
the  system  of  reform  and  of  international  intercourse 
in  its  own  time  and  way ; and  it  had  in  view  the  incor- 
poration of  these  ideas  in  the  revised  treaties  which 
were  in  contemplation.  It  was  a wise  step  on  the  part 
of  the  Chinese  to  choose  for  the  head  of  this  mission  a 
representative  of  the  United  States,  whose  government 
had  disavowed  all  territorial  aims  in  China,  and  whose 
selection  could  awaken  no  jealousy  or  suspicion  among 
the  rival  European  powers. 

The  only  substantial  result  of  the  mission  was  the 
treaty  which  it  negotiated  with  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  terms  of  that  treaty  may  in  some 
degree  indicate  the  purposes  and  expectations  of  Prince 
Kung  and  his  associates  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen  in  its 
creation.  This  treaty  was  drafted  by  Secretary  Seward, 
who,  it  has  been  shown,  entertained  the  most  exalted 
ideas  as  to  the  future  possibilities  of  the  United  States 
in  the  Pacific  Ocean.  It  stipulated  the  territorial  in- 
tegrity of  China  by  disavowing  any  right  to  interfere 
with  its  eminent  domain  or  sovereign  jurisdiction  over 


266 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


its  subjects  and  property  ; it  recognized  the  right  of 
China  to  regulate  its  internal  trade  not  affected  by 
treaty  ; provided  for  the  appointment  of  consuls  ; se- 
cured exemption  from  persecution  or  disability  on  ac- 
count of  religion  ; recognized  the  right  of  voluntary 
emigration ; pledged  the  privilege  of  residence  and 
travel  in  either  country  on  the  basis  of  the  most  fa- 
vored nation  ; granted  the  privilege  of  schools  and 
colleges ; disavowed  the  intention  to  interfere  in  the 
domestic  administration  of  China  in  respect  to  public 
improvements,  but  expressed  the  willingness  of  the 
United  States  to  aid  in  such  enterprises  when  requested 
by  China. 

The  effect  of  the  treaty  of  1868  upon  the  future 
relations  of  the  two  countries  will  be  considered  later  in 
this  chapter,  when  it  will  be  seen  that  its  principal  pro- 
visions were  nullified  by  a revulsion  of  public  sentiment 
in  the  United  States.  Hence  it  may  be  said  that  the 
Burlingame  mission  was  substantially  barren  of  results. 
At  the  time  it  was  the  subject  of  animated  discussion, 
the  foreign  merchants  resident  in  China  being  especially 
earnest  in  their  opposition  to  it  as  a movement  to  de- 
ceive and  mislead  the  Western  powers,  and  claiming 
that  the  Chinese  were  at  heart  relentless  opponents  of 
all  foreigners,  and  that  it  was  folly  to  treat  them  as 
other  nations.  A later  minister  at  Peking  wrote : 

Mr.  Burlingame,  with  that  wealth  of  generosity  which 
characterized  him,  nourished  in  his  imagination  the 
more  attractive  qualities  of  the  Chinese.  There  was  so 
much  that  was  exalted  and  honorable  in  his  views,  so 
much  that  touched  the  generous  sentiments  of  the  age, 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  267 

SO  much  withal  that  was  true  and  capable  of  demon- 
stration, that  he  aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  our  people. 
. . . The  last  effects  of  Mr.  Burlingame’s  glowing 
statements  were  then  effaced  [by  the  Tientsin  riot  of 
1870],  and  an  impression  left  that  the  Chinese  enter- 
tained an  unyielding,  bitter  hatred  of  foreigners.” 
However  this  may  be,  the  fruitless  effects  of  the  mis- 
sion cannot  be  made  to  reflect  upon  Mr.  Burlingame’s 
ability  or  foresight.  Indeed  his  success  in  the  United 
States  and  at  London  and  the  sudden  collapse  of  the 
mission  upon  his  death  bear  testimony  to  his  capacity 
and  magnetic  personality.  James  G.  Blaine,  who  was 
a participant  in  the  honors  paid  to  him  at  Washington, 
says  of  him  : “ As  an  example  of  the  influence  of  a 
single  man  attained  over  an  alien  race,  whose  civiHza- 
tion  is  widely  different,  whose  religious  belief  is  totally 
opposite,  whose  language  he  could  not  read  nor  write 
nor  speak,  Mr.  Burlingame’s  career  in  China  will  always 
be  regarded  as  an  extraordinary  event,  not  to  be  ac- 
counted for  except  by  conceding  to  him  a peculiar 
power  of  influencing  those  with  whom  he  came  in  con- 
tact ; a power  growing  out  of  a mysterious  gift,  partly 
intellectual,  partly  spiritual,  and  largely  physical.”  The 
imagination  may  well  speculate  upon  what  might  have 
been  the  later  history  of  China,  if  his  life  had  been 
spared  to  conclude  his  mission  and  to  return  to  Peking 
to  exercise  his  unusual  personal  influence  upon  the  im- 
perial court.^ 

^ On  Burlingame’s  appointment  and  mission,  U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1868, 
pt.  i.  pp.  493,  502,  601  ; 1870,  pp.  317,  332  ; 1871,  p.  166  ; Williams’s 
Letters,  370,  376,  382  ; Martin’s  Cathay,  374 ; Speers’s  China,  429  ; 


268 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


The  Tientsin  riot  of  1870,  resulting  in  the  murder  of 
nineteen  foreigners,  mostly  French  missionaries,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  French  consulate,  the  cathedral 
and  the  mission  property,  was  one  of  the  most  violent 
outbursts  of  Chinese  antipathy  to  foreigners  in  the  last 
century.  Although  the  American  minister  reported 
that  the  French  consul  and  missionaries  had  been  im- 
prudent in  their  conduct,  he  united  with  his  diplomatic 
colleagues  in  a demand  upon  the  authorities  for  the 
punishment  of  the  guilty  parties,  and  was  active  in 
bringing  about  a proper  reparation  and  settlement.^ 
From  the  first  residence  of  the  foreign  ministers  at 
Peking  the  empire  had  been  ruled  by  a regency  con- 
sisting of  the  two  empress  dowagers,  but  on  February 
23,  1873,  the  young  emperor,  having  attained  his  ma- 
jority, personally  assumed  the  control  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  a notice  to  this  effect  was  sent  by  Prince 
Kung  to  the  chiefs  of  the  diplomatic  corps.  Since  1860 
the  foreign  representatives  on  their  arrival  at  the  capi- 
tal had  sent  a copy  of  their  credentials  to  the  Tsung-li 
Yamen,  but  had  retained  the  originals,  the  female  re- 
gency holding  no  personal  intercourse  with  them.  Upon 
receipt  of  the  notice  of  the  emperor’s  assumption  of  the 
government,  the  ministers  joined  in  a note  requesting 

Nevius’s  China,  438  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  344  ; Douglas’s  China, 
356  ; The  Burlingame  Mission,  A Political  Disclosure,  etc.,  by  J.  M. 
Gumpach,  1872  ; Harper’s  Mag.  Oct.  1868,  p.  692  ; Westminster  Rev. 
Jan.  1870.  For  Burlingame’s  views  of  mission,  see  speech  in  New  York, 
Nevius’s  China,  451.  For  Burlingame  treaty  of  1868,  U.  S.  Treaties, 
p.  179. 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.,  1870  and  1871,  China  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  347  ; 
Douglas’s  China,  360. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


269 


an  audience  of  his  majesty  to  pay  their  respects  and 
present  to  him  their  credentials. 

Thus  was  raised  again  the  question  of  audience, 
which  had  been  so  much  discussed  during  the  past  two 
centuries  and  a half,  whenever  the  representatives  of 
the  Western  nations  had  sought  to  appear  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  ruler  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  The 
Tsung-li  Yamen  assumed  the  same  position  as  that 
maintained  by  the  court  when  the  American  minister, 
Mr.  Ward,  came  to  Peking  in  1859,  — that  it  would  be 
necessary  for  the  foreign  ministers  to  kneel  at  the  au- 
dience. The  discussion  on  this  point  continued  through 
four  weary  months,  with  frequent  conferences  and 
many  exchanges  of  notes  and  memoranda.  The  for- 
eign governments  were  firm  in  sustaining  their  repre- 
sentatives in  the  position  that  they  would  do  nothing 
at  the  audience  which  would  imply  inferiority  on  the 
part  of  their  countries,  and  that,  as  prostration  or  kneel- 
ing was  an  act  of  abasement,  they  could  not  permit 
their  ministers  to  perform  it.  The  Secretary  of  State 
in  his  instructions  to  Mr.  Low,  the  American  minister, 
stated  that  while  questions  of  ceremony  were  not  usually 
seriously  considered  in  the  United  States,  in  the  case 
of  China  it  involved  the  official  equality  of  nations  and 
became  a question,  not  of  form  merely,  but  of  sub- 
stance, requiring  grave  consideration.  He  was  directed 
to  proceed  carefully  and  with  due  regard  for  the  in- 
veterate prejudices  and  the  grotesque  conceit  of  the 
Chinese  courtiers,’’  but  if  he  should  fail  to  bring  about 
a correct  decision  of  the  question,  he  was  authorized  to 
go  to  the  extreme  of  suspending  official  intercourse. 


270  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Happily,  however,  such  a course  did  not  become 
necessary,  as  Prince  Rung  and  Wensiang  were  able 
eventually  to  bring  the  court  and  cabinet  to  accept 
the  three  bows  which  were  usual  in  similar  ceremonies 
at  European  courts  as  a sufficient  mark  of  respect  to 
the  emperor.  The  audience  was  a noted  event  in  Chi- 
nese history,  as  it  marked  another  step  towards  con- 
formity to  Western  diplomatic  intercourse.  And  yet  it 
was  not  a complete  abandonment  of  oriental  methods. 
The  audience  did  not  take  place  in  the  great  reception 
hall,  but  in  the  Pavilion  of  Purple  Light,’’  used  for 
receiving  the  visits  of  the  representatives  of  tributary 
states.  The  emperor  did  not  stand,  did  not  receive 
from  the  ministers  their  credentials,  and  did  not  speak 
to  them  in  response  to  their  addresses.  He  sat  upon  his 
throne,  the  credentials  were  laid  upon  a table  in  front 
of  him,  and  he  directed  Prince  Rung  to  make  response 
in  his  name.  So  hard  it  was  for  this  ancient  people  to 
break  away  from  the  custom  of  ages.^ 

The  vexed  question,  so  imperfectly  settled  in  1873, 
would  necessarily  recur  for  discussion ; but  as  the  young 
emperor,  Tung  Chih,  died  soon  after  that  date,  and 
another  long  regency  occurred  during  the  minority  of 
the  present  emperor,  Rwang  Hsu,  no  other  audience 
was  granted  till  1891.  Upon  the  latter  attaining  his 
majority,  an  imperial  edict  was  published  directing  an 
audience  for  the  diplomatic  corps.  This  brought  for- 
ward again  for  discussion  the  points  unsettled  in  1873, 
and  for  three  months  conferences  of  the  members  of 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1873,  China  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  359  ; Douglas’s 
China,  375. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


271 


the  corps  and  interviews  and  correspondence  with  the 
Tsung-li  Yamen  absorbed  the  attention  of  these  two 
bodies. 

The  foreign  representatives  insisted,  first,  that  the 
audience  should  not  be  held  in  the  tribute  hall ; second, 
that  the  letters  from  their  sovereigns  should  be  placed 
by  them  in  the  hands  of  the  emperor  ; third,  that  there 
should  be  a separate  audience  for  each  minister  and  his 
suite,  in  place  of  a reception  of  the  diplomatic  corps  in 
a body,  with  one  spokesman  and  one  interpreter ; and 
fourth,  that  new  ministers  might  present  their  letters 
on  arrival,  in  place  of  waiting  till  the  annual  New  Year’s 
reception,  as  was  contemplated  in  the  edict.  On  the 
first  two  points  the  diplomats  were  only  partially  suc- 
cessful. It  was  determined  that  the  first  audience  should 
be  held  in  the  Pavilion  of  Purple  Light,”  but  in  after 
years  in  a suitable  hall  in  the  main  palace.  It  was  con- 
tended that,  according  to  immemorial  law,  no  person 
could  present  a paper  to  the  emperor  except  upon  his 
knees.  It  was  therefore  decided  that  Prince  Ching, 
president  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  should  descend  from 
the  platform  upon  which  the  emperor  was  seated,  take 
the  letter  from  the  foreign  minister  at  the  foot  of  the 
steps,  and  lay  it  upon  the  table  in  front  of  the  emperor, 
and  then  kneel  to  receive  his  majesty’s  reply.  It  may 
seem  trivial  to  the  reader  that  a considerable  part  of  the 
time  of  the  three  months’  deliberation  was  over  the  pre- 
cise stage  of  the  ceremony  when  Prince  Ching  should 
kneel.  The  diplomats  successfully  contended  that  he 
could  not  make  that  obeisance  until  the  letter  of  their 
sovereign  or  chief  had  left  his  hands,  as  until  he  placed 


272  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

that  document  on  the  table  he  was  in  a certain  sense 
the  agent  of  the  foreign  sovereign. 

The  American  minister,  Mr.  Denby,  ■ — who  had  been 
in  Peking  more  than  five  years  before  he  was  able  to 
present  the  letter  of  the  President  accrediting  him,  — 
reported  the  audience  of  1891  as  a great  triumph  for 
Western  diplomacy,  and  a long  step  in  the  direction  of 
recognition  of  the  absolute  equality  of  nations.  But 
it  required  the  Japanese  war  of  1894  and  the  convul- 
sion growing  out  of  the  Boxer  outrages  of  1900  to 
bring  the  Son  of  Heaven  ’’  down  from  his  platform, 
have  him  receive  into  his  own  hands  the  autograph  let- 
ters of  presidents  and  monarchs,  and  talk  face  to  face 
with  their  representatives.^ 

Following  the  discussion  of  the  audience  question, 
another  step  was  taken  towards  a more  liberal  policy. 
The  American  minister  was  informed  that  it  had  been 
determined  to  send  a number  of  Chinese  youths  abroad 
to  be  educated  at  the  public  expense,  and  that  they 
would  be  sent  to  the  United  States,  if  assurance  could 
be  had  of  a friendly  reception,  which  was  promptly 
given.  The  first  detachment,  consisting  of  thirty  youths, 
was  sent  in  1872,  and  they  were  followed  by  thirty  more 
in  1873.  Homes  were  found  for  them  in  families  in 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  and  later  others  were 
sent,  and  a station  was  established  at  Hartford,  under 
the  direction  of  Yung  Wing,  a Chinese  graduate  of 
Yale  College,  which  was  maintained  for  a number  of 
years,  but  it  was  finally  abandoned  and  the  young  men 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1891,  pp.  355-385,  392,  455,456  ; 1892,  p.  85  ; 1898, 
p.  223. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  273 

recalled  to  China,  upon  the  pretext  of  the  reactionary 
party  that  their  long  residence  abroad  would  weaken 
their  devotion  to  their  own  country.  The  action  in 
sending  them  to  the.  United  States  demonstrated  the 
liberal  tendencies  of  the  controlling  spirit  of  the 
government  and  its  friendly  disposition  to  the  United 
States.  On  their  return  to  China,  although  a disposi- 
tion was  shown  to  exclude  them  from  public  life,  the 
value  of  their  foreign  education  was  so  manifest  that  a 
number  of  them  have  been  assigned  to  important  posts 
under  the  government,  and  have  rendered  their  country 
very  useful  service.^ 

In  1875,  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  who  began  his  dip- 
lomatic career  in  1853  as  secretary  and  interpreter  to 
Commodore  Perry  in  Japan,  and  who  for  twenty  years 
had  acted  as  secretary  and  often  as  charge  of  the  Amer- 
ican legation  in  China,  resigned  his  office  and  returned 
to  the  United  States.  For  several  years  and  until  his 
death  in  1884  he  occupied  the  chair  of  Chinese  Lan- 
guages and  Literature  at  Yale  University.  Few  Amer- 
ican officials  in  China  have  been  enabled  to  render  their 
country  such  useful  services.  His  work  on  China, 

The  Middle  Kingdom,”  remains  to  this  day  the  stand- 
ard authority  on  that  country.  His  Chinese  Dictionary 
— a work  of  much  labor  and  research  — is  the  best 
evidence  to  his  great  learning  in  the  Chinese  language. 
Secretary  Fish,  in  accepting  his  resignation,  expressed 
in  the  highest  terms  the  government’s  appreciation  of 
his  services.  Minister  Keed,  with  whom  he  served 

1 U.  S.  For.  Eel.  1872,  p.  130  ; 1873,  pp.  140,  186  ; Williams’s  Hist. 
China,  387. 


274  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  wrote : He  is  the 

most  learned  man  in  his  varied  information  I have  ever 
met.  . . . He  is  the  most  habitually  religious  man  I 
have  ever  seen.”  The  American  missionaries,  by  whom 
his  life  was  best  known,  well  said  of  him : ‘‘  It  is  not 
often  that  the  providence  of  God  allots  to  any  one  man 
so  long  and  so  distinguished  a term  of  service.” 

The  special  feature  of  the  Burhngame  treat}^  of  1868 
with  the  United  States  was  in  its  emigration  stipulations. 
Although  the  ancient  penal  code  of  China  visited  ex- 
patriation of  its  subjects  with  severe  penalties  upon  the 
resident  relatives  of  offenders,  and  emigration  was  pro- 
hibited by  law  and  was  discouraged  by  the  government, 
yet  the  overflowing  Chinese  population  in  and  adjacent 
to  the  seaports  having  intercourse  with  foreigners  had 
not  been  deterred  from  seeking  to  better  their  lot  in 
foreign  lands.  For  centuries  the  Chinese  had  resorted 
to  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  even  bitter  persecution 
and  slaughter  had  not  prevented  many  thousands  of 
them  from  maintaining  their  residence  there.  They 
had  hkewise  gone  in  large  numbers  to  Annam,  Siam, 
Java,  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  the  British  Straits  Set- 
tlements, where  their  industrious  and  abstemious  habits 
had  enabled  them  to  supplant  largely  the  less  energetic 
inhabitants. 

About  the  time  of  the  acquisition  of  California  by 
the  United  States  and  the  discovery  of  gold  there,  a 
fresh  incentive  was  given  to  Chinese  emigration,  and 
it  assumed  a new  aspect.  A large  demand  for  labor 
arose  in  Peru,  where  efforts  were  being  made  to  restore 
to  cultivation  the  lands  which  had  lain  idle  since  the 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  275 

conquest,  and  also  to  work  the  mines.  In  Cuba  the 
cultivation  of  sugar  had  become  very  profitable,  and 
the  stringent  enforcement  of  the  international  treaties 
against  the  African  slave  trade  had  forced  the  planters 
to  look  elsewhere  for  laborers.  Brazil  and  other  coun- 
tries were  likewise  seeking  for  an  increase  of  the  labor- 
ing class.  China  with  its  superabundant  population 
afforded  the  best  field  from  which  these  countries  could 
obtain  their  much  needed  supply. 

This  led  to  the  establishment  of  what  is  known  as  the 
coolie  trade  — the  procurement  from  southern  China  of 
laborers,  their  transportation  to  Peru,  Cuba,  and  other 
countries  nominally  under  a contract  of  service  for  a 
term  of  years,  but  virtually  constituting  a system  of 
slavery  with  all  its  attendant  hardships  and  horrors. 
The  American  consul  at  Hongkong,  who  was  famihar 
with  this  traffic,  reported  to  his  government  that  it  dif- 
fered from  the  African  slave  trade  in  little  else  than 
the  employment  of  fraud  instead  of  force  to  make  its 
victims  captive.”  Secretary  Seward,  who  visited  China 
on  his  tour  of  the  world  about  the  time  when  it  was  at 
its  height,  described  it  as  an  abomination  scarcely  less 
execrable  than  the  African  slave-trade.”  The  head- 
quarters of  this  trade  were  established  at  the  Portu- 
guese port  of  Macao,  as  it  was  not  permitted  from  the 
Chinese  ports  nor  the  British  colony  of  Hongkong. 
For  some  twenty  years  it  constituted  the  main  business 
of  Macao,  where  the  iniquitous  traffic  was  carried  on 
long  after  it  had  been  outlawed  by  the  leading  mari- 
time nations  of  the  world. 

Many  of  the  poorest  classes  of  the  Chinese,  in  the 


276  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

hope  of  bettering  their  condition,  were  induced  to 
enter  into  contracts  of  service  for  a term  of  years 
under  tempting  conditions  as  to  wages  and  thus  became 
voluntary  but  deceived  emigrants.  As  the  demand  in- 
creased and  the  supply  of  wiUing  contract  laborers 
became  insufficient,  Chinese  in  large  numbers  were 
kidnapped  from  their  homes,  native  procurers  or  pimps 
being  employed  to  do  the  needful  work  of  the  so- 
called  contractors.  They  were  confined  in  barracoons 
at  Macao,  and  thence  sent  off  in  ship  loads  to  their 
destined  places  of  slavery.  The  transportation  of  these 
wretched  creatures  was  attended  with  great  privations, 
and  in  many  instances  with  experiences  of  the  most 
cruel  and  revolting  character.  The  coolies  often  on 
the  voyage,  discovering  that  they  had  been  seduced 
under  false  pretenses  as  to  their  destination  or  the 
character  of  service,  mutinied,  and,  killing  the  officers 
and  crew,  returned  to  China;  or,  being  overpowered, 
many  of  them  were  killed  and  the  rest  kept  as  prison- 
ers. Suicides  were  frequent  and  deaths  from  ill  treat- 
ment and  disease  were  numerous.  In  one  case  the 
mutinous  coolies  set  fire  to  the  vessel,  whereupon  the 
captain  and  crew,  battening  down  the  hatches,  took  to 
the  boats  and  left  the  six  hundred  Chinese  to  perish 
miserably.  Other  instances  of  nearly  equal  horror 
occurred. 

When  they  reached  their  destination,  in  Peru  and 
Cuba  especially,  they  were  sold  to  the  planters  at  prices 
as  high  as  from  $400  to  $1000  for  each  laborer,  for 
the  term  of  service  fixed  in  the  contract  into  which 
they  had  entered  either  voluntarily  or  by  compulsion ; 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


277 


but  at  the  end  of  the  term,  for  alleged  debt,  crime, 
or  other  fictitious  charge  they  were  continued  in  ser- 
vice. During  this  period  they  were  treated  as  slaves, 
branded,  lashed,  and  tortured,  and  their  condition  was 
so  wretched  that  many  sought  relief  in  death.  It  is 
estimated  that  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  Chi- 
nese coolies  were  taken  to  Peru  and  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  to  Cuba. 

The  inefficiency  or  indifference  of  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment is  shown  in  the  fact  that  its  subjects  in 
such  large  numbers  could  be  carried  away  from  its 
dominions  and  so  cruelly  maltreated  without  any  serious 
effort  to  put  an  end  to  the  evil.  The  local  authorities 
in  a feeble  way  sought  to  repress  kidnapping  and  the 
imposition  practiced  on  the  people,  but  to  little  pur- 
pose, as  for  many  years  the  traffic  flourished.  Among 
the  documents  on  the  subject  sent  to  Washington  by 
Minister  Parker,  who  was  the  most  vigorous  champion 
in  the  crusade  against  the  traffic,  there  is  found  a 
proclamation  issued  by  the  gentry  of  Amoy,  warning 
their  countrymen  against  the  kidnappers  and  the  sedu- 
cers of  the  lower  classes  by  false  promises,  and  bemoan- 
ing the  sad  fate  of  those  sold  into  slavery.  They 
might,”  it  says,  implore  Heaven,  and  their  tears  may 
wet  the  earth,  but  their  complaints  are  uttered  in  vain. 
When  carried  to  the  barbarian  regions,  day  and  night 
they  are  impelled  to  labor,  without  intervals  even  for 
sleep.  Death  is  their  sole  relief.  . . . Alas ! those  who 
living  were  denizens  of  the  central  flowery  country,  dead, 
their  ghosts  wander  in  strange  lands.  0,  azure  Heaven 
above!  in  this  way  are  destroyed  our  righteous  people.” 


278 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Realizing  the  friendly  attitude  of  Americans  towards 
their  country,  the  Chinese  coolies  in  Peru  sent  to  the 
American  legation  in  Lima  a curious  and  affecting 
petition,  setting  forth  their  pitiable  condition,  and 
praying  that  through  its  government  the  emperor  of 
China  might  be  moved  to  intervene  in  their  behalf. 
This  petition  was  presented  by  the  American  minister 
at  Peking  to  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  with  the  suggestion 
of  a course  which  might  be  followed  to  secure  relief 
without  danger  of  foreign  entanglements.  He  reports 
that  the  officials  of  the  Yamen  expressed  their  sym- 
pathy with  their  suffering  countrymen,  regretted  that 
they  should  have  been  inveigled  into  such  a miserable, 
cruel  servitude,  and  hoped  that  the  evils  would  soon  be 
mitigated ; but  he  states  that  they  had  no  vivid  sense 
of  their  own  responsibilities  in  the  matter,  did  not 
respond  to  his  suggestion  of  a remedy,  and  took  no 
steps  for  the  amelioration  of  the  sad  lot  of  the  petition- 
ers and  the  scores  of  thousands  of  other  Chinese  sim- 
ilarly situated. 

The  explanation  made  by  the  American  minister  for 
this  surprising  indifference  of  the  Peking  officials  was 
that  their  secluded  position  and  prejudices  of  education 
and  etiquette  prevented  them  from  learning  the  true 
state  of  the  world  and  deterred  them  from  any  new 
step  in  foreign  intercourse.  Added  to  this  was  the 
fact  that  the  interests  of  the  great  empire  were  not 
seriously  affected  by  the  exodus  of  a few  hundred  thou- 
sands from  the  swarming  population  of  the  southern 
provinces.  During  the  negotiations  which  resulted  in 
the  treaty  of  1858  one  of  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  279 

in  response  to  a suggestion  that  his  government  should 
send  consuls  abroad  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the 
emperor’s  subjects  settled  in  foreign  lands,  said  : When 

the  emperor  rules  over  so  many  millions,  what  does  he 
care  for  the  few  waifs  that  have  drifted  away  to  a for- 
eign land  ? ” It  was  stated  that  some  of  those  in  the 
United  States  were  growing  rich  from  the  gold  mines, 
and  that  they  might  be  worth  looking  after  on  that 
account.  ‘‘  The  emperor’s  wealth,”  he  replied,  is 
beyond  computation ; why  should  he  care  for  those  of 
his  subjects  who  have  left  their  home,  or  for  the  sands 
they  have  scooped  together  ? ” 

But  in  addition  to  the  grievances  of  the  coolies  in 
Peru,  a little  later  similar  complaints  of  ill  treatment  of 
the  Chinese  in  Cuba  were  brought  to  the  attention  of 
the  Chinese  government,  and  upon  the  advice  of  the 
American  and  British  ministers  a commission  was  sent 
to  that  island  to  inquire  into  their  condition.  The 
report  of  that  commission,  made  in  1875,  developed  a 
state  of  affairs  of  the  worst  possible  character.  It 
showed  that  almost  all  the  Chinese  in  Cuba  had  been 
kidnapped  by  force  or  inveigled  by  falsehood.  They 
had  been  confined  and  treated  like  prisoners  in  the 
barracoons  at  Macao,  intimidated  or  deceived  into  sign- 
ing unjust  contracts,  shipped  like  slaves,  and  cruelly 
treated  on  the  voyage.  Among  the  kidnapped  were 
some  persons  of  literary  and  official  rank,  who  were 
held  to  unwilling  labor.  Many  jumped  overboard  on 
the  voyage,  wild  at  the  fraud  practiced  upon  them,  or 
crazed  with  the  sufferings  which  they  endured  from 
overcrowding,  filth,  and  insufficient  food.  One  in  ten 


280  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

died  on  the  passage.  Arrived  in  Cuba,  their  services 
were  sold  at  high  rates  and  great  profits.  They  were 
kept  at  work  much  beyond  the  usual  hours  of  labor, 
denied  holidays,  beaten,  mutilated,  and  starved,  and 
from  these  causes  they  died  in  large  numbers.  When 
the  contracts  expired,  instead  of  being  allowed  their 
freedom,  if  they  refused  to  renew  their  contracts,  they 
were  treated  as  vagrants  and  held  as  convicts  until  they 
reengaged  themselves  or  were  sold  into  service.  At 
the  end  of  the  second  contract,  they  were  again  sub- 
jected to  the  same  treatment.  x\nd  the  various  extor- 
tions practiced  and  the  high  rates  of  passports  made 
escape  from  the  island  extremely  difficult. 

When  this  report  was  made  public  it  so  shocked  the 
moral  sense  of  the  world  that  even  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment, which  was  the  last  of  the  civilized  nations  to 
adhere  to  the  system  of  slavery,  was  forced  to  enter 
into  treaty  stipulations  with  China,  whereby  a stop  was 
put  to  the  most  iniquitous  practices  of  the  system  of 
contract  service ; and  the  Portuguese  government  was 
forced  to  close  the  barracoons  at  Macao.  Chinese  con- 
suls were  sent  to  Cuba,  Peru,  and  other  countries  where 
Chinese  coolies  were  found  in  considerable  numbers, 
and  they  were  afforded  the  opportunity  of  receiving 
and  investigating  their  complaints. 

The  first  legislation  looking  to  the  suppression  of 
the  Chinese  coolie  trade  was  passed  by  the  British  Par- 
liament in  1855,  making  it  unlawful  for  British  ships 
to  engage  in  it,  and  giving  full  power  to  the  colonial 
government  at  Hongkong,  where  the  trade  was  first 
established,  to  take  measures  against  it.  This  drove 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


281 


the  headquarters  of  the  business  to  Macao  and  trans- 
ferred the  transportation  service  to  other  than  British 
vessels.  Although  the  American  ministers  in  China 
exerted  their  influence  against  it,  and  Minister  Parker 
issued  a proclamation  warning  American  vessels  from 
engaging  in  the  carrying  of  coolies,  as  the  minister  had 
no  power  to  punish  violations  of  his  proclamation,  it  did 
not  deter  American  vessels,  and  to  their  shame  be  it 
said,  a number  of  them  were  for  a time  engaged  in  the 
transportation.  But  in  1862  Congress  passed  an  act 
making  it  unlawful  for  American  vessels  to  transport 
subjects  of  China  or  of  any  other  oriental  country, 
known  as  coolies,  to  any  foreign  port  to  be  held  to 
service  or  labor ; all  citizens  of  the  United  States  were 
prohibited  from  engaging  in  the  trade  or  from  building 
vessels  to  engage  in  it ; and  American  naval  officers 
were  empowered  to  search  and  seize  American  vessels 
offending  against  the  law.  It  was  likewise  made  the 
duty  of  American  consuls  to  examine  all  emigrants  on 
ships  clearing  for  United  States  ports  to  ascertain 
whether  they  were  departing  voluntarily. 

The  effect  of  the  law  was  to  drive  all  American  ves- 
sels and  citizens  out  of  the  iniquitous  traffic  and  also  to 
prevent  the  introduction  of  coolie  labor  into  the  United 
States.  The  intercourse  of  the  Americans  with  the 
Chinese  had  created  a friendly  feeling  on  the  part  of 
the  latter,  and  soon  after  the  establishment  of  diplo- 
matic relations  and  the  opening  of  the  ports  to  trade, 
the  attention  of  the  Chinese  was  turned  to  the  Pacific 
territory  of  the  United  States.  With  the  oriental  im- 
agery to  which  they  were  addicted  they  styled  that 


282  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

country  The  Beautiful  Land  ” and  the  Union  standard 
‘^The  Flowery  Flag.’’  Before  the  enactment  of  the 
coolie  legislation  by  Congress  several  thousands  of  Chi- 
nese had  come  to  California,  attracted  by  the  discovery 
of  gold  and  by  the  demand  for  labor  at  high  rates  of 
wages ; but  under  the  American  laws  the  system  of 
enforced  labor  was  not  permitted  and  the  coolie  trade 
never  extended  to  the  United  States.  The  cost  of 
transportation  of  many  of  the  Chinese  laborers  who 
came  to  California  was  advanced  to  them  by  firms  or 
companies  at  Canton  or  Hongkong,  and  they  signed 
contracts  to  refund  the  sums  advanced  out  of  their 
wages,  but  they  were  perfectly  free  as  to  their  move- 
ments and  service  when  they  reached  the  United 
States.^ 

Although  the  United  States  had  prohibited  its  citi- 
zens and  vessels  from  engaging  in  the  coolie  trade,  it 
agreed  to  the  insertion  of  a clause  in  the  Burhngame 
treaty  to  give  to  its  laws  the  solemn  guarantee  of  an 
international  compact,  by  which  it  was  made  a penal 
offense  for  a citizen  of  the  United  States  or  a Chinese 
subject  to  take  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  other 
nation  to  any  foreign  country  without  their  free  and 

1 For  reports  of  American  ministers  as  to  coolie  trade,  H.  Ex.  Doc. 
123,  33d  Cong.  1st  Sess.  p.  78  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  99.  34th  Cong.  1st  Sess. ; S. 
Ex.  Doc.  22,  35th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  623,  632,  661,  670 ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  30, 
36th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  59,  185,  424  ; For.  Rel.  1871,  pp.  114,  150,  210  ; 
1873,  pp.  205,  207  ; 1875,  p.  293  ; 1878,  p.  96  ; 19  Chinese  Repository, 
344,  510  ; Martin’s  Cathay,  31, 160  ; Seward’s  Travels  Aroimd  the  World, 
New  York,  1873,  p.  253  ; Harper’s  Mag.  June,  1864  ; N.  A.  Rev.  Jan. 
1860,  p.  143  ; Williams’s  Hist.  346  ; Williams’s  Letters,  414 ; Speers’s 
China,  421.  For  laws  of  Congress,  U.  S.  Rev.  Stat.  secs.  2158-2164  ; 18 
St.  at  L.  477. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


283 


voluntary  consent.  But  the  stipulations  to  which  the 
greatest  value  were  attached  in  the  United  States  were 
those  contained  in  Article  Y.,  which  cordially  recog- 
nized” on  the  part  of  both  governments  ^Hhe  inherent 
and  inalienable  right  of  man  to  change  his  home  and 
allegiance,  and  also  the  mutual  advantage  of  the  free 
immigration  and  emigration  of  their  citizens  and  sub- 
jects respectively  from  one  country  to  the  other  for 
purposes  of  curiosity,  of  trade,  or  as  permanent  resi- 
dents ; ” and  in  Article  VI.,  in  which  it  was  provided 
that  the  citizens  and  subjects  respectively  shall  enjoy 
the  same  privileges,  immunities,  or  exemptions  in  re- 
spect to  travel  or  residence  as  may  there  be  enjoyed  by 
the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation.” 

At  the  time  this  treaty  was  being  made  several  thou- 
sand Chinese  laborers  were  engaged  in  the  construction 
of  the  transcontinental  or  Pacific  railroad.  This  stu- 
pendous enterprise,  which  was  to  bind  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  territories  of  the  nation  in  an  indissoluble  union, 
and  which  had  required  the  credit  of  the  nation  and 
the  wealth  of  its  capitalists  for  its  consummation,  was 
approaching  completion,  thanks  to  the  patient  toil  of 
an  army  of  Chinese  laborers  when  others  could  not  be 
obtained.  This  same  sturdy  and  indefatigable  race  had 
been  largely  instrumental  in  the  sudden  and  wonderful 
development  of  the  Pacific  States.  It  was  felt  that 
they  were  a valuable  addition  to  the  labor  element  of 
the  country  and  were  destined  to  have  a still  greater 
and  still  more  favorable  influence  upon  its  develop- 
ment. 

Hence  the  treaty  containing  the  stipulations  cited 


284 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


was  heralded  as  a marked  evidence  of  American  influ- 
ence in  the  East,  and  the  President,  in  communicating 
its  negotiation  to  Congress,  spoke  of  it  as  a liberal  and 
auspicious  treaty.”  Some  delay,  however,  occurred  in 
its  ratification  by  the  Chinese  government,  and  serious 
uneasiness  was  felt  in  the  United  States  lest  it  should 
fail  to  be  carried  into  effect.  Under  President  Grant’s 
direction.  Secretary  Fish  instructed  the  American  min- 
ister in  Peking  to  exert  his  influence  with  the  Chinese 
authorities  to  bring  about  its  early  ratification.  He 
wrote  : Many  considerations  call  for  this  besides  those 

which  may  be  deduced  from  what  has  gone  before  in 
this  instruction.  Every  month  brings  thousands  of  Chi- 
nese immigrants  to  the  Pacific  coast.  Already  they 
have  crossed  the  great  mountains  and  are  beginning  to 
be  found  in  the  interior  of  the  continent.  By  their 
assiduity,  patience,  and  fidehty,  and  by  their  intelli- 
gence, they  earn  the  good-will  and  confidence  of  those 
who  employ  them.  We  have  good  reason  to  think  this 
thing  will  continue  and  increase ; ” and  the  Secretary 
said  it  was  welcomed  by  the  country. 

The  treaty  was  finally  ratified  by  China,  and  the 
government  of  the  United  States  congratulated  itself 
on  being  instrumental  in  bringing  China  out  of  her 
seclusion  and  inducing  her  to  march  forward,”  as 
Secretary  Fish  expressed  it.  Ten  years  after  this  treaty 
was  signed.  President  Hayes,  in  a message  to  Congress, 
thus  spoke  of  its  leading  provision : ‘‘  Unquestionably 
the  adhesion  of  the  o^overnment  of  China  to  these  lib- 

o 

eral  principles  of  freedom  in  emigration,  with  which  we 
were  so  familiar  and  with  which  we  were  so  well  satis- 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


285 


fied,  was  a great  advance  towards  opening  that  empire 
to  our  civilization  and  religion^  and  gave  promise  in  the 
future  of  greater  and  greater  practical  results  in  the 
diffusion  throughout  that  great  population  of  our  arts 
and  industries,  our  manufactures,  our  material  improve- 
ments, and  the  sentiments  of  government  and  religion 
which  seem  to  us  so  important  to  the  welfare  of  man- 
kind.’’ ' 

But  within  a few  years  after  the  treaty  went  into 
operation  a change  in  puhhc  sentiment  respecting  it 
began  to  take  place,  especially  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
where  the  Chinese  population  was  principally  located. 
By  their  diligence  and  frugal  habits  they  were  able  to 
successfully  compete  with  the  white  laborers  in  the 
mining  camps,  in  the  fields,  in  the  shops,  as  domestics, 
and  in  all  common  manual  labor.  The  trades  unions 
joined  in  sounding  an  alarm  that  the  myriads  of  people 
from  the  crowded  and  half-starved  homes  of  China 
were  likely  to  come  to  the  country  in  such  numbers  as 
to  drive  out  entirely  the  white  laborers.  The  Chinese 
in  California  and  adjacent  sections  segregated  them- 
selves from  the  other  inhabitants,  living  together  in 
cheap,  ill-constructed,  and  uncleanly  houses,  took  no 
part  in  local  or  public  affairs,  did  not  assimilate  with 
the  mass  of  the  people,  and  observed  their  pagan  or 
superstitious  rites.  It  was  argued  that  they  were  an 
undesirable  population,  and  that  if  continued  to  be 
allowed  free  access  to  the  country,  they  would  in  time 
endanger  its  institutions  and  change  entirely  its  distinc- 
tive characteristics. 

^ 6 Presidents’  Messages,  690  ; 7 Ib.  516  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1870,  p.  307. 


286 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


The  opposition  to  this  emigration  first  manifested 
itself  in  individual  acts  of  hostility,  personal  abuse  of 
Chinamen,  and  injury  to  their  property.  To  this  suc- 
ceeded state  laws  restricting  their  rights  and  seeking 
to  limit  the  immigration.  But  when  tested  in  the  courts 
this  state  legislation  was  declared  to  be  in  violation  of 
the  treaty  or  of  the  federal  Constitution.  The  element 
opposed  to  the  coming  of  the  Chinese,  which  had  now 
grown  so  strong  in  California  as  to  dominate  state 
politics,  appealed  to  Congress  for  an  abrogation  or 
modification  of  the  Burlingame  treaty  of  1868.  This 
appeal  was  so  effective  as  to  procure  the  appointment,  in 
1876,  of  a joint  committee  of  the  two  houses  to  visit 
the  Pacific  coast  and  to  investigate  the  character,  extent, 
and  effect  of  Chinese  immigration. 

The  committee,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Senator 
OHver  P.  Morton,  of  Indiana,  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  influential  members  of  Congress,  held  a number 
of  sessions  at  San  Francisco,  examined  a large  munber 
of  witnesses,  received  a mass  of  documentary  evidence, 
and  made  a thorough  investigation.  The  report  which 
the  committee  submitted  to  Congress  at  its  next  session 
constitutes,  with  the  testimony,  a volume  of  over  twelve 
hundred  pages.  The  chairman.  Senator  Morton,  at- 
tended the  sessions  of  the  committee  in  San  Francisco, 
but  having  fallen  ill  on  his  return  journey  to  the  East 
and  died  before  Congress  convened,  the  report  was  pre- 
sented by  Senator  Sargent,  of  California.  As  the  ma- 
jority and  minority  reports  of  this  committee  set  forth 
the  arguments  advanced  during  the  discussion,  in  the 
United  States  through  twenty-five  years,  of  the  much 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


287 


agitated  question  of  Chinese  immigration,  it  is  well  to 
give  an  epitome  of  them. 

The  report  submitted  for  the  cqmmittee  by  Senator 
Sargent  stated  that ' the  investigation  established  the 
fact  that  so  far  as  material  prosperity  was  concerned, 
the  Pacific  coast  had  been  a great  gainer  by  Chinese 
immigration,  and,  if  inquiry  was  not  to  be  made  into  the 
present  and  future  moral  or  political  welfare  of  the 
Pacific  States,  it  must  be  conceded  that  their  general 
resources  were  being  rapidly  developed  by  Chinese 
labor.  Opposition  to  any  restriction  on  Chinese  immi- 
gration was  manifested  by  the  capitalistic  classes  and 
those  interested  in  transportation  ; also  by  religious 
teachers,  who  found  in  the  presence  of  the  Chinese  an 
opportunity  of  Christianizing  them. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  laboring  men  and  artisans 
were  opposed  to  the  influx  of  Chinese  ; and  the  same 
view  was  entertained  by  many  professional  men,  mer- 
chants, divines,  and  judges,  who  regarded  the  prosper- 
ity derived  from  the  Chinese  as  deceptive  and  unwhole- 
some, ruinous  to  the  laboring  classes,  promotive  of 
caste,  and  dangerous  to  free  institutions. 

The  committee  reported  the  evidence  as  showing  that 
the  Chinese  lived  in  filthy  dwellings,  upon  poor  food, 
crowded  in  narrow  quarters,  disregarding  health  and 
fire  ordinances,  and  that  their  vices  were  corrupting  the 
morals  especially  of  the  young.  It  also  showed  that 
the  Chinese  had  reduced  wages  to  starvation  prices  for 
white  men  and  women,  that  the  hardships  bore  with 
special  severity  upon  women,  and  that  the  tendency 
was  to  degrade  all  white  working  people  to  the  abject 


288  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

condition  of  a servile  class.  From  this  cause  there  had 
sprung  up  a bitterly  hostile  feeling  to  the  Chinese, 
sometimes  exhibited  in  laws  and  ordinances  of  doubtful 
propriety,  in  the  abuse  of  individual  Chinese,  and  in 
cases  of  mob  violence. 

The  committee  held  that  an  indigestible  mass  in  the 
community,  distinct  in  language,  pagan  in  rehgion,  in- 
ferior in  mental  and  moral  qualities,  was  an  undesir- 
able element  in  a republic,  and  especially  so  if  political 
power  should  be  placed  in  its  hands  ; that  the  safety  of 
the  state  demanded  that  such  power  should  not  be  so 
placed,  and  the  safety  of  the  immigrant  depended  upon 
that  power. 

It  was  painfully  evident  from  the  testimony  that  the 
Pacific  coast  must  in  time  become  either  American  or 
Mongolian  ; that  while  conditions  were  favorable  to  the 
growth  and  occupancy  of  the  Pacific  States  by  Ameri- 
cans, the  Chinese  had  advantages  which  would  put 
them  far  in  advance  in  the  race  for  possession  ; and 
that  the  presence  of  Chinese  discouraged  and  retarded 
white  immigration. 

By  the  judges  of  the  criminal  courts  it  was  shown 
that  there  was  a great  want  of  veracity  among  Chinese 
witnesses,  and  that  they  had  little  regard  for  the  sanc- 
tity of  an  oath.  It  was  shown  that  they  were  non- 
assimilative  with  the  whites,  had  no  social  intercourse 
and  did  not  intermarry  with  them,  and  in  a residence 
of  twenty-five  years  had  made  no  progress  in  that  di- 
rection. They  did  not  bring  their  families  with  them  ; 
all  expected  to  return  to  China  ; and  prostitutes  were 
imported  and  held  as  slaves.  It  was  claimed  that  in 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  289 

point  of  morals  they  were  far  inferior  to  the  European 
or  Aryan  race,  and  in  brain  capacity  as  well.  It  was 
admitted,  however,  that  the  Chinese  merchants  were 
honorable  in  their  dealings. 

It  appeared  from  the  evidence  that  they  did  not  de- 
sire to  become  citizens  nor  to  possess  the  ballot ; and 
that  to  give  the  latter  to  them  would  practically  destroy 
republican  institutions  on  the  Pacific  coast,  as  they 
would  be  controlled  by  their  head-men,”  who  would 
sell  their  votes,  and  that  they  had  no  comprehension  of 
any  form  of  government  but  despotism.  It  was  also 
stated  that  they  had  a quasi  government  among  them- 
selves, independent  of  American  laws,  authorizing  pun- 
ishment of  offenders  against  Chinese  customs,  even  to 
the  taking  of  life. 

The  committee  recommended  that  measures  be  adopted 
by  the  executive  looking  to  a modification  of  the  exist- 
ing treaty  with  China,  confining  it  to  strictly  commer- 
cial purposes,  and  that  Congress  legislate  to  restrain  the 
great  influx  of  Asiatics.  It  was  not  believed  that  either 
of  these  measures  would  be  looked  upon  with  disfavor 
by  China.  But  whether  so  or  not,  a duty  was  owing 
to  the  Pacific  States,  which  were  suffering  under  a ter- 
rible scourge,  and  were  patiently  waiting  for  relief  from 
Congress. 

Senator  Morton,  having  died  before  reaching  Wash- 
ington, was  not  a participant  in  the  concluding  confer* 
ences  at  which  the  report  of  the  committee  was  com- 
pleted. From  his  strong  personality,  his  great  influence 
in  Congress,  and  his  powers  of  debate,  it  was  fair  to 
presume  that,  his  life  being  spared,  if  he  had  not  been 


290  AMEKICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

able  to  control  tbe  report  of  the  committee,  he  would 
at  least  have  so  restrained  the  legislation  of  Congress 
as  to  have  prevented  the  radical  action  taken  by  that 
body.  He  had  prepared  material  which  he  designed  to 
have  incorporated  in  the  report  of  the  joint  committee. 
These  papers  were  submitted  to  the  Senate  after  his 
death  as  embodying  his  views,  and  constituted  a mi- 
nority report. 

He  called  attention  to  the  great  and  eternal  doc- 
trines of  the  equality  and  natural  rights  of  man,’’  which 
were  the  foundation-stone  of  the  political  system  of  the 
United  States.  Believing  that  God  has  given  to  all 
men  the  same  rights,  without  regard  to  race  or  color,” 
it  became  a cardinal  principle  of  the  government,  pro- 
claimed in  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  the  Ar- 
ticles of  Confederation,  and  recognized  by  our  Consti- 
tution, that  our  country  was  open  to  immigrants  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  ; ” and  that  this  invitation  could 
not  and  ought  not  to  be  limited  or  controlled  by  race 
or  color,  by  the  character  of  the  civilization,  nor  by  the 
religious  faith  of  the  immigrants. 

He  referred  to  the  great  objections  which  had  been 
urged  to  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  — their  exclusive- 
ness, their  refusal  to  permit  the  people  of  other  nations 
to  settle  in  or  travel  through  their  countries  and  acquire 
a knowledge  of  their  institutions.  Now  when  the  doors 
of  China  and  Japan  were  thrown  open,  and  Americans 
had  the  right  to  live  there,  to  do  business,  and  had 
complete  protection,  it  was  proposed  to  take  a step 
backward  by  the  adoption  of  their  cast-ofiP  policy  of 
exclusion.  The  argument  set  up  in  favor  of  this  was 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


291 


precisely  what  was  so  long  used  to  excuse  or  justify  the 
same  policy  in  China  and  Japan,  viz.,  that  the  admis- 
sion of  foreigners  tended  to  interfere  with  their  trade 
and  the  labor  of  their  people,  and  to  corrupt  their 
morals  and  degrade  their  religion.  Our  only  absolute 
security,  he  said,  consisted  in  devotion  to  the  doctrines 
upon  which  the  government  was  founded,,  and  that  the 
profound  conviction  that  the  rights  of  men  are  not  con- 
ferred by  constitutions,  which  may  be  altered  or  abol- 
ished, but  are  God-given  to  every  human  being. 

The  senator’s  conclusion  from  the  investigations  of 
the  committee  was  that  the  difference  of  the  Chinese  in 
color,  dress,  manners,  and  religion  had  more  to  do  with 
the  hostility  to  them  than  their  alleged  vices  or  any 
actual  injury  to  the  white  people  of  California.  It  was 
the  resurrection  of  those  odious  race  distinctions  which 
brought  upon  the  United  States  the  late  Civil  War, 
and  from  which  it  fondly  hoped  that  God  in  His  provi- 
dence had  dehvered  it  forever. 

The  testimony  showed,  according  to  the  senator,  that 
the  crops  in  California  could  not  be  harvested  or  taken 
to  market  without  the  aid  of  Chinese  labor;  that  the 
railroads  could  not  have  been  constructed  without  it ; 
that  it  was  doubtful  if  it  had  injuriously  interfered  with 
the  white  people  of  that  State ; that  there  was  work  for 
all ; that  the  Chinese,  by  their  labor,  opened  up  large 
avenues  and  demand  for  white  labor  ; that  the  first  suc- 
cessful introduction  of  manufactures  there  was  by  the 
employment  of  Chinese  labor,  and  as  manufactories  be- 
came established,  the  employment  of  Chinese  gradually 
diminished,  and  white  labor  largely  increased.  The 


292 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


inquiry  failed  to  show  that  there  was  any  considerable 
number  of  white  people  in  California  out  of  employ- 
ment, except  those  who  were  willfully  idle  — the  hood- 
lums and  ruffians,  — the  most  noisy  in  their  outcry 
against  the  Chinese.  That  there  had  been  many  in- 
stances where  Chinamen  were  employed  in  preference 
to  whites  because  of  their  cheaper  labor,  was.  undoubt- 
edly true,  but  not  to  an  extent  that  could  furnish  just 
cause  of  complaint,  requiring  legislation  or  political 
action  for  its  redress. 

The  testimony,  he  asserted,  showed  that  the  intellec- 
tual capacity  of  the  Chinese  is  fully  equal  to  that  of  the 
whites.  It  also  estabHshed  the  fact  that  Chinese  labor 
in  California  was  as  free  as  any  other,  and  that  there 
was  no  form  or  semblance  of  slavery  or  serfdom  among 
them.  The  most  of  the  Chinese  immigrants  were  young, 
unmarried  men ; few  families  had  come,  and  women  were 
imported  for  immoral  purposes.  It  was  also  true  that 
they  are  peculiarly  addicted  to  gambhng,  but  probably 
not  more  so  than  the  early  white  settlers  of  California 
when  few  had  wives  and  famihes  with  them.  This  vice 
was  greatly  to  be  deplored,  hut  it  was  not  so  peculiarly 
Chinese  as  to  make  it  the  basis  of  special  legislation. 
They  were  not  addicted  to  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  and  kept  no  saloons.  Then'  form  of  intemper- 
ance was  in  the  use  of  opium ; but  it  did  not  produce 
violence,  and  the  number  who  practiced  it  was  smaller 
than  the  number  of  whites  who  visit  saloons  and  be- 
come intoxicated. 

The  senator  referred  to  the  Burlingame  treaty  of 
1868,  and  especially  to  its  articles  V.,  VI.,  and  VII., 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION 


293 


which  provided  for  free  emigration,  residence,  or  travel, 
and  the  privileges  of  the  educational  institutions.  When 
this  treaty  was  concluded,  he  said,  it  was  regarded  by 
the  whole  nation  as  a grand  triumph  of  American 
diplomacy  and  principles.  It  was  especially  a recog* 
nition  by  China  of  what  might  be  called  the  great 
American  doctrine  of  the  inherent  and  inalienable 
right  of  man  to  change  his  home  and  his  allegiance,  — 
a doctrine  for  the  recognition  of  which  by  the  govern- 
ments of  Europe  the  United  States  had  been  strugghng 
by  negotiation  ever  since  it  had  a national  existence, 
and  had  succeeded  with  them  one  by  one. 

In  conclusion  the  chairman  of  the  committee  con- 
tended that  labor  must  needs  be  free,  have  complete 
protection,  and  be  left  open  to  competition.  Labor  did 
not  require  that  a price  be  fixed  by  law,  or  that  men 
who  live  cheaply,  and  can  work  for  lower  wages,  shall, 
for  that  reason,  be  kept  out  of  the  country.^ 

The  report  of  the  committee  was  submitted  just  be- 
fore the  termination  of  the  Forty-fourth  Congress,  in 
February  27, 1877 ; but  the  subject  was  brought  before 
the  next  Congress,  and  after  considerable  discussion  a 
bill  was  passed  through  both  houses  which  so  greatly 
restricted  the  immigration  of  Chinese  into  the  United 
States  that,  in  the  language  of  the  President,  it  fell 

little  short  of  its  absolute  exclusion,’’  in  direct  viola- 
tion of  the  Burhngame  treaty  of  1868.  But  in  addi- 
tion to  this  the  bill  provided  for  the  abrogation  of 

1 S.  Report  No.  689,  44th  Cong.  2d  Sess. ; Misc.  Doc.  No.  20,  45th 
Cong.  2d  Sess.  As  to  immigration  and  the  Six  Companies,  Speers’s 
China,  chaps,  xvi.,  xix.,  xx. 


294  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Articles  V.  and  VI.  of  the  Burlingame  treaty,  relating 
to  the  free  immigration  and  residence  of  Chinese  in  the 
United  States. 

This  radical  legislation  indicated  a great  change  in 
public  opinion  since  the  Burlingame  treaty  was  pro- 
claimed with  such  gratification  ten  years  before ; but 
this  open  disregard  of  international  obligations  shocked 
the  moral  sense  of  a large  part  of  the  American  people, 
and  led  to  such  an  expression  of  public  sentiment  as 
caused  President  Hayes  to  veto  the  bill,  and  it  thus  failed 
to  become  a law.  The  President  in  his  message  on  the 
subject,  while  he  appealed  to  Congress  to  maintain 
the  public  duty  and  the  public  honor,”  recognized  that 
the  working  of  the  Burlingame  treaty  had  demonstrated 
that  some  modification  of  it  was  necessary  to  secure  the 
country  against  a larger  and  more  rapid  infusion  of 
this  foreign  race  than  our  system  of  industry  and  soci- 
ety can  take  up  and  assimilate  with  ease  and  safety,” 
and  he  expressed  the  opinion  that,  if  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment was  approached  in  the  proper  spirit,  the  desired 
modification  might  be  secured  without  the  discredit  to 
the  nation  which  would  result  from  the  proposed  legis- 
lation. 

The  President,  in  accordance  with  this  policy,  ap- 
pointed in  1880  a commission,  consisting  of  Dr.  James 
B.  Angell,  president  of  Michigan  University,  John  T. 
Swift,  of  California,  and  W.  H.  Trescot,  a former  assist- 
ant secretary  of  state,  to  proceed  to  Peking  and  secure 
by  negotiation  a change  in  the  provisions  of  the  treaty 
of  1868  respecting  the  immigration  of  Chinese  to  the 
United  States.  This  commission  was  received  in  a 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  295 

friendly  spirit  by  the  Chinese  government,  and  within 
two  months  after  its  arrival  at  the  capital  a treaty  on 
immigration  was  concluded  and  signed.  By  its  pro- 
visions there  was  conferred  upon  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  whenever  in  its  opinion  the  coming  of 
Chinese  laborers  to  the  United  States,  or  their  residence 
therein,  affects  or  threatens  to  affect  the  interests  of 
that  country,  . . . power  to  regulate,  limit,  or  suspend 
such  coming  or  residence,  but  not  absolutely  to  pro- 
hibit it.”  This  power  to  limit  immigration  was  only  to 
apply  to  Chinese  laborers,  other  classes  of  Chinese  being 
permitted  to  enter  freely  and  reside  in  the  United 
States. 

The  Chinese  government  having  in  so  gracious  a 
spirit  yielded  to  the  desires  of  the  American  commis- 
sioners on  the  subject  of  immigration,  the  latter  were 
very  ready  to  gratify  the  former  in  the  matter  of  the 
opium  traffic,  — a subject  of  extreme  anxiety  and  em- 
barrassment to  the  Chinese  rulers.  At  their  request  a 
commercial  treaty  was  signed,  in  which  it  was  stipulated 
that  “citizens  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  per- 
mitted to  import  opium  into  any  of  the  open  ports  of 
China,  to  transport  it  from  one  open  port  to  another 
open  port,  or  to  buy  and  sell  opium  in  any  of  the  open 
ports  of  China ; ” and  this  absolute  prohibition  was  to 
be  enforced  by  appropriate  legislation.  A similar  pro- 
vision was  inserted  in  the  treaty  of  1882  between  the 
United  States  and  Korea. 

After  the  commercial  treaty  had  been  executed.  Dr. 
Angell,  the  American  minister  at  Peking  and  one  of  the 
commissioners,  transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  State  a 


296 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


communication  received  by  him  from  Mr.  W.  N.  Pe- 
thick/  an  American  citizen  long  resident  in  China,  and 
then  the  private  secretary  of  the  Chinese  grand  secretary, 
Li  Hung  Chang,  as  indicative  of  the  importance  which 
the  Chinese  attached  to  the  opium  prohibition  contained 
in  that  treaty.  The  letter  is  of  much  interest,  for  it  re- 
views the  history  of  the  opium  traffic  and  the  Chinese 
view  of  it,  and  shows  the  high  appreciation  in  imperial 
circles  of  the  action  of  the  American  commissioners.  He 
states  that  China  has  never  consented  to  bear  without 
murmur  the  great  wrong  of  the  opium  traffic  which  was 
forced  upon  her ; neither  has  the  government  been  in- 
different to  the  spread  of  the  evil.  Blood  and  treasure 
were  spent  freely  in  combating  its  introduction,  and, 
though  defeated  in  war,  the  government  has  not  re- 
mained a silent  or  unfeeling  witness  of  the  blight 
extending  over  the  country.  He  says  that  the  single 
article  of  opium  imported  equals  in  value  all  other 
goods  brought  into  China,  and  is  greater  than  all  the 
tea  or  all  the  silk  (the  two  chief  articles  of  export)  sent 
out  of  the  country,  — which  show  that  the  black  stream 
of  pollution  which  has  so  long  flowed  out  of  India  into 

1 Mr.  Pethick,  after  serving  in  the  Union  army  during  the  Civil  War, 
at  its  close  went  to  China,  where  he  made  himself  master  of  its  difficult 
language,  was  engaged  for  some  time  as  interpreter  in  the  United  States 
legation  and  consulates,  and  for  a number  of  years  acted  as  the  confiden- 
tial secretary  of  Li  Hung  Chang.  His  influence  upon  that  statesman  and 
upon  Chinese  politics  was  very  decided,  and  always  in  the  direction  of 
liberal  ideas  and  progress.  He  was  a man  of  much  erudition,  and  is  said 
to  have  read  in  translation  to  Li  several  hundred  English,  French,  and 
German  books.  He  assisted  the  latter  in  his  peace  negotiations  of  1901, 
and  died  at  the  close  of  that  year,  greatly  respected  in  both  Chinese  and 
foreign  society. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  297 

China  has  been  increasing  in  volume  and  spreading  its 
baneful  influence  wider  and  wider.  Americans  have 
been  engaged  in  the  trade  in  common  with  other  for- 
eigners ; but  the  United  States,  by  a bold  and  noble 
declaration  against  opium,  now  stands  in  the  right  be- 
fore the  world  and  the  God  of  nations.  It  has,  he 
writes,  encouraged  long  deferred  hope,  confirmed  oft- 
defeated  determination  ; it  has  nerved  the  arm  of  the 
government  with  new  strength,  and  we  shall  see  China 
once  again  grappling  with  the  monster  that  is  stealing 
away  the  prosperity  and  energies  of  her  people. 

But  these  hopes  proved  entirely  illusory.  Prince 
Rung  again  urged  the  British  government  to  stop  the 
importation  of  opium,  upon  the  stipulation  that  its  cul- 
tivation in  China  would  be  prohibited,  but  the  proposi- 
tion was  not  entertained.  An  association  was  organized 
in  England  to  create  a public  sentiment  in  favor  of  the 
suppression  of  the  trade ; and  Li  Hung  Chang,  in  an 
interview  with  the  American  minister,  Mr.  Young,  in 
1882,  spoke  hopefully  of  its  influence  on  the  British 
government,  and  gave  him  for  transmittal  to  his  gov- 
ernment a copy  of  a letter  which  he  had  written  to  the 
Anti-Opium  Association,  which  presents  the  Chinese 
view  of  the  question  with  much  force. 

The  following  extract  will  indicate  the  spirit  of  the 
letter:  Opium  is  a subject  in  the  discussion  of  which 

England  and  China  can  never  meet  on  common  ground. 
China  views  the  whole  question  from  a moral  stand- 
point, England  from  a fiscal.  England  would  sustain 
a source  of  revenue  in  India,  while  China  contends 
for  the  lives  and  prosperity  of  her  people.  . . . The 


298  AMER1CA.N  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

present  import  duty  on  opium  was  established  not  from 
choice,  but  because  China  submitted  to  the  adverse  de- 
cision of  arms.  The  war  must  be  considered  as  China’s 
standing  protest  against  legalizing  such  a revenue.  . . . 
The  new  treaty  with  the  United  States  containing  the 
prohibitory  clause  against  opium  encourages  the  belief 
that  the  broad  principles  of  justice  and  feelings  of 
humanity  will  prevail  in  future  relations  between  China 
and  the  Western  nations.” 

But  the  action  of  Dr.  Angell  and  his  colleagues  in 
inserting  the  opium  prohibition  in  that  treaty  came  too 
late.  The  success  which  had  attended  the  efforts  of 
the  Japanese,  a kindred  race,  shows  that  prohibition 
can  be  made  effective,  but  the  evil  had  then  become 
too  deeply  rooted  in  China,  and  the  revenue  derived  by 
India  from  the  trade  was  too  important  to  be  sur- 
rendered. 

It  is  gratifying  to  record  that  the  government  of  the 
United  States  from  the  beginning  has  sought  to  dis- 
countenance the  traffic.  In  the  first  treaty  with  China, 
that  of  1844,  it  was  provided  that  citizens  of  the 
United  States  . . . who  shall  trade  in  opium  or  any 
other  contraband  article  of  merchandise,  shall  be  sub- 
ject to  be  dealt  with  by  the  Chinese  government  with- 
out being  entitled  to  any  countenance  or  protection 
from  that  of  the  United  States.”  When  Mr.  Keed 
was  sent  out  to  negotiate  the  treaty  of  1858,  he  was 
instructed  to  say  to  the  Chinese  government  that  its 
effort  to  prevent  the  importation  and  consiunption  of 
opium  was  a praiseworthy  measure,”  and  that  the 
United  States  would  not  seek  for  its  citizens  the  legal 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  299 

establishment  of  the  opium  trade,  nor  would  it  uphold 
them  in  any  attempt  to  violate  the  laws  of  China  by 
the  introduction  of  that  article  into  the  country.”  Dr. 
Martin,  who  acted  as  interpreter  on  the  occasion,  states 
that  in  the  first  draft  of  the  treaty  submitted  by  Mr. 
Reed  to  the  Chinese  there  was  an  article  denouncing 
and  forbidding  the  opium  trade,  but  that  he  was  induced 
by  Lord  Elgin,  the  British  plenipotentiary,  to  withdraw 
it,  greatly  to  the  surprise  of  the  Chinese  negotiators. 
There  is  much  to  be  said  in  commendation  of  the 
British  government  in  its  relations  with  the  Orient,  but 
its  connection  with  the  opium  traffic  of  China  has  left 
a dark  and  ineffaceable  stain  upon  its  record.  In  this 
matter  the  greed  of  the  East  India  Company  and  its 
successor,  the  government  of  India,  triumphed  over  the 
moral  sentiment  of  the  nation,  which  has  done  so  much 
for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  mankind.^ 

In  execution  of  the  treaty  of  immigration  of  1880, 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  passed  an  act  in 
1882  prohibiting  or  suspending  the  coming  of  Chinese 
laborers  into  the  country  for  a period  of  twenty  years. 
This  second  attempt  of  Congress  to  legislate  respecting 
Chinese  immigration  was  met  by  a veto  from  President 
Arthur,  on  the  ground  that  a prohibition  of  immigra- 
tion for  so  long  a time  as  twenty  years  was  not  war- 
ranted by  the  spirit  of  the  treaty  and  was  in  violation 
of  the  assurances  given  by  the  commission  which  nego- 
tiated it  that  the  large  powers  conferred  on  Congress 

would  be  exercised  by  our  government  with  a wise 

1 U.  S.  Treaties,  184  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1881,  p.  216  ; 1883,  pp.  123, 128  ; 
S.  Ex.  Doc.  30,  36th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  p.  8 ; Martin’s  Cathay,  184. 


300  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

discretion,  in  a spirit  of  reciprocal  and  sincere  friend- 
ship, and  with  entire  justice.”  The  President,  in  call- 
ing the  attention  of  Congress  to  these  assurances  and 
to  the  concession  made  by  China  granting  the  power  to 
fix  limitations  upon  the  coming  of  Chinese  laborers, 
said  : China  may  therefore  fairly  have  a right  to  ex- 

pect that  in  enforcing  them  we  will  take  good  care  not 
to  overstep  the  grant  and  take  more  than  has  been 
conceded  to  us.”  Congress  gave  heed  to  the  appeal 
of  the  President,  and  modified  the  proposed  legisla- 
tion by  limiting  the  suspension  of  the  immigration  of 
Chinese  laborers  to  ten  years. 

The  treaty  of  1880  contained  a stipulation  that  the 
Chinese  laborers  in  the  United  States  at  the  time  of  its 
signature  should  be  permitted  to  leave  the  country  and 
return  of  their  own  free  will  and  accord.”  Before 
the  ten  years  period  of  prohibition  of  immigration  had 
expired  a demand  was  made  upon  Congress  for  the 
enactment  of  more  stringent  legislation,  based  upon 
the  allegation  that  fraud  was  being  practiced  in  the 
exercise  of  the  privilege  granted  by  the  treaty  of  the 
departure  and  return  of  laborers.  It  was  charged  that 
Chinese,  after  having  resided  in  the  United  States  for 
several  years  and  acquired  a competency,  returned  to 
China  where  they  remained,  and  that  other  Chinese 
falsely  assumed  their  personality  and  thus  unlawfully 
secured  admittance  into  the  United  States. 

To  remedy  this  defect  a new  treaty  was  negotiated 
between  the  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Chinese  minis- 
ter in  Washington  in  1888,  whereby  the  privilege  of 
the  departure  and  return  of  Chinese  laborers  lawfully 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  301 

in  the  United  States  was  restricted  to  those  who  had 
property  to  the  value  of  $1000,  or  a wife  or  children 
in  the  country,  and  the  government  of  the  United 
States  was  authorized  to  adopt  suitable  regulations  to 
prevent  fraud.  Provision  was  also  made  in  the  treaty 
for  an  indemnity  to  be  paid  the  Chinese  government  to 
compensate  for  the  loss  of  life  and  property  of  Chinese 
laborers  occasioned  by  riots  at  Rock  Springs  in  Wyom- 
ing, Tacoma  in  the  State  of  Washington,  and  at  other 
places,  growing  out  of  the  antipathy  and  opposition  to 
Chinese. 

The  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  with  certain  amendments,  and  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment likewise  proposed  amendments.  While  these 
negotiations  were  taking  place  a presidential  electoral 
campaign  was  in  progress,  the  labor  unions  of  the 
Pacific  States  were  especially  clamorous  for  the  adop- 
tion of  further  restrictions  on  Chinese  immigration, 
and  the  votes  of  those  States  seemed  likely  to  be  cast 
in  favor  of  the  presidential  candidate  whose  party  was 
most  radical  in  its  opposition  to  the  Chinese.  Under 
the  spur  of  the  exigencies  of  the  campaign  and  the 
uncertainty  of  the  ratification  of  the  new  treaty  by  the 
Chinese  government,  a law  was  hastily  passed  through 
Congress  absolutely  prohibiting  the  admittance  of  Chi- 
nese laborers  into  the  United  States.  Although  this 
legislation,  known  as  the  Scott  Act,  was  in  direct  viola- 
tion of  treaty.  President  Cleveland  allowed  it  to  become 
a law,  justifying  his  action  by  the  failure  of  China  to 
ratify  the  new  treaty ; but  he  recommended  that  the 
indemnity  provided  for  in  the  treaty  on  account  of  the 


302  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

riots  be  paid  to  China,  and  the  sum  of  |276,619  was 
accordingly  appropriated  by  Congress  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

The  President  was,  however,  unwilling  to  allow  the 
stain  of  treaty  violation  to  rest  upon  the  honor  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Secretary  of  State  entered  anew 
into  negotiations  with  the  Chinese  minister  in  Wash- 
ington, which  resulted  in  the  signature  of  a treaty  in 
1894  similar  in  most  respects  to  the  unratified  treaty 
of  1888,  and  which  was  accepted  by  both  governments. 

The  treaty  of  1894  stipulated  for  the  prohibition  by 
the  United  States  of  the  admission  of  Chinese  laborers 
for  the  term  of  ten  years.  In  anticipation  of  the 
expiration  of  that  term  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress 
took  up  the  subject  of  the  reenactment  of  the  existing 
legislation,  which  would  come  to  an  end  by  limita- 
tion. The  sentiment  against  Chinese  immigration  had 
strengthened  with  the  lapse  of  time,  under  the  increas- 
ing political  influence  of  labor  organizations,  and  bills 
of  like  character  which  added  still  further  restrictions 
to  those  in  the  existing  laws  were  reported  by  the 
respective  committees  in  the  two  houses.  The  prohi- 
bition of  the  immigration  of  Chinese  laborers  was  made 
perpetual;  those  lawfully  in  the  United  States  were 
not  to  be  permitted  to  pass  to  or  from  the  insular  pos- 
sessions and  the  mainland  territory ; conditions  were 
added  to  the  admission  of  merchants,  scholars,  teachers, 
and  travelers  which  amounted  almost  to  a prohibition ; 
limitations  were  placed  upon  the  transit  of  Chinese 
laborers  through  the  territory  of  the  United  States  en 
route  to  other  countries;  and  other  provisions  were 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  303 

proposed  which  it  was  asserted  were  in  conflict  with 
the  treaties  with  China.  It  was  claimed  that  these 
additional  measures  were  made  necessary  by  the  frauds 
practiced  by  the  Chinese  laborers  in  their  great  desire 
to  gain  admittance  to  the  United  States. 

The  bill  from  the  committee  passed  the  House  of 
Kepresentatives  without  much  opposition,  but  the  sub- 
ject caused  an  animated  debate  in  the  Senate.  Senator 
Lodge,  who  was  one  of  the  ablest  supporters  of  the 
bill,  at  the  close  of  a lengthy  speech  on  the  subject, 
based  his  opposition  to  immigration  of  the  Chinese 
upon  two  grounds.  He  said : The  first  reason  is  that 

they  are  members  not  of  a new  malleable  people  who 
can  come  here  and  adopt  our  methods  and  imbibe  our 
ideas.  They  are  members  of  an  old  and  immutable 
civilization.  They  never  can  form  a part  of  a body 
of  American  citizenship.  They  do  not  wish  to  do  so. 
They  would  not  do  so  if  they  could.  They  have  come 
here  simply  for  profit.  A great  race  that  means  to  do 
that  and  nothing  else  in  the  United  States  is  better 
outside  the  line  than  inside.  And,  second,  I am  in 
favor  of  Chinese  exclusion  because  the  Chinese  can 
create  economic  conditions  in  which  we  cannot  survive. 
It  is  not  a question  of  the  fittest  surviving,  but  a ques- 
tion of  the  survival  of  the  fittest  to  survive.  The  best 
do  not  necessarily  survive,  and  here  we  have  a people 
450,000,000  strong,  who  can  produce  an  environment 
and  a standard  under  which  we  cannot  live.” 

The  senators  who  opposed  the  passage  of  the  bill 
conceded  that  the  further  coming  of  Chinese  laborers 
to  the  United  States  should  be  prohibited  ^ but  they 


304  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

contended  that  those  in  the  country  should  not  he 
treated  unjustly  or  harshly;  that  the  census  reports 
showed  that  the  Chinese  population  in  the  country  was 
decreasing,  and  hence  there  was  no  occasion  to  enact 
more  restrictive  measures;  and,  above  all,  that  there 
should  be  no  legislation  which  would  look  towards  a 
disregard  of  treaty  stipulations.  It  was  also  urged 
that  it  was  bad  policy  to  adopt  measures  which  would 
offend  the  Chinese  people  at  a time  when  earnest  efforts 
were  being  made  to  increase  commercial  relations  with 
that  country. 

The  result  of  the  debate  was  the  defeat  of  the  bill 
embodying  the  stringent  provisions  proposed  by  the 
committee,  and  the  adoption  of  a substitute  offered  by 
Senator  Platt,  of  Connecticut,  which  continued  in  force 
the  existing  laws  and  regulations,  not  inconsistent  with 
the  treaty,  until  1904,  or  until  a new  treaty  should  be 
made.^  It  was  a distinct  defeat  of  the  anti-Chinese 
extremists  and  a clear  indication  that  the  sober  public 


1 7 Presidents’  Messages,  514  ; 8 Ib.  113,  634  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1881, 
China ; Ib.  1888,  China ; Ib.  1894,  China  ; U.  S.  Treaties,  182  ; U.  S. 
Treaties  in  Force  (ed.  1899),  122  ; Chinese  Immigration,  by  S.  Wells 
Williams,  New  York,  1877  ; 2 Blaine’s  Twenty  Years  in  Congress,  651. 
For  debate  in  Senate,  1902,  Cong.  Record,  57th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  pp.  3880- 
4509,  5050,  5051.  For  laws  of  Congress  as  to  Chinese  immigration,  22 
Stat.  at  Large,  58  ; 23  Ib.  115  ; 25  Ib.  476,  504  ; 27  Ib.  25 ; 28  Ib.  7 ; 
and  Act  of  April  29,  1902.  For  comments  on  legislation,  N.  A.  Rev. 
July,  1893,  p.  52  ; Hon.  Charles  Denby  in  Forum,  July-Sept.  1902  ; 
Report  on  Certain  Economic  Questions  in  the  Orient,  by  Prof.  J.  W. 
Jenks,  War  Department,  Washington,  1902,  Chinese  Immigration  in 
Colonies,  chap,  iii.,  Chinese  Immigration  to  the  Philippines,  157.  The 
Acts  of  Congress  respecting  immigration  have  been  frequently  considered 
by  the  U.  S.  Supreme  Court.  The  leading  case  is  Fong  Yue  Ting  et  al.  v. 
United  States,  149  U.  S.  Reports,  689. 


CHINESE  IMMIGRATION  AND  EXCLUSION  305 

opinion  of  the  country  favored  a faithful  adherence  to 
treaty  obligations. 

From  the  foregoing  narrative  it  is  seen  that  a radical 
change  in  pubhc  opinion  respecting  Chinese  immigra- 
tion has  taken  place  in  the  United  States  since  the 
Burhngame  treaty  was  proclaimed  with  so  much  pride 
and  satisfaction  in  1868.  Even  the  lofty  and  noble 
sentiments  embodied  in  the  minority  report  of  Senator 
Morton  in  1877  have  given  place  to  a more  perfect 
realization  of  the  economic  conditions  as  shown  by  ex- 
perience. While  the  principle  of  expatriation  is  still 
adhered  to  and  insisted  upon  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  it  holds  that  citizenship  is  a privilege  to 
be  conferred  and  not  a right  which  can  be  claimed  by 
every  foreigner  who  enters  the  country.  It  maintains, 
further,  the  right  to  exclude  from  its  territory  any  class 
of  people  whose  coming  it  may  judge  to  be  harmful  or 
undesirable.  A majority  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  have  reached  the  conviction  that  it  is  not  wise 
to  allow  the  free  and  unrestricted  immigration  of  people 
of  the  Asiatic  races,  and  that  it  is  especially  desirable 
to  exclude  Chinese  laborers  from  its  territory. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  seen  that  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  is  unwilHng  to  allow  the 
reproach  to  attach  to  it  of  a disregard  of  treaty  obliga- 
tions. When  in  time  of  political  excitement  the  popular 
branch  of  the  government  has  temporarily  yielded  to 
public  clamor,  the  executive  head  of  the  government 
has  not  failed  to  interpose,  and  in  every  instance  Con- 
gress has  listened  to  the  voice  of  reason  and  the  appeal 
to  national  honor,  and  has  corrected  its  legislation  to 


306  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

meet  the  views  of  the  executive  department,  which  con- 
ducts the  foreign  intercourse. 

It  has  also  been  seen  that  the  government  of  China 
has  in  this  matter  shown  a commendable  spirit  of  friend- 
liness and  concession.  It  allowed  the  Burlingame  treaty 
to  be  framed  to  suit  the  views  of  the  United  States. 
When  it  became  apparent  that  a change  in  public  sen- 
timent in  the  latter  country  had  taken  place,  it  acqui- 
esced in  the  request  for  a radical  modification  of  that 
treaty  which  materially  restricted  the  privileges  of  its 
own  subjects.  And  a second  time,  when  it  was  ap- 
proached for  another  treaty  change,  it  consented  to 
limit  still  further  the  treaty  rights  of  its  people.  The 
outrages  which  they  have  at  times  suffered  by  mob 
violence  or  at  the  hands  of  overzealous  officials  are  not 
attributed  to  the  ill-will  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  neither  has  the  harsh  legislation,  much  as  it  is 
regretted,  been  allowed  to  change  the  friendly  relations 
of  the  two  nations.  Each  recognizes  the  difficulties  of 
internal  administration,  and  does  not  require  of  the 
other  impossible  conditions. 


IX 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 

Korea,  or  Chosen,  as  it  is  officially  styled,  — the  Land 
of  the  Morning  Calm,  — has  been  for  ages  the  scene  of 
conflict  between  its  ambitious  neighbors.  Its  geograph- 
ical position,  a peninsula  extending  into  waters  which 
wash  the  shores  of  powerful  and  rival  nations  on  the 
east,  north,  and  west,  has  made  it  a constant  sufferer 
from  invading  armies,  kept  it  in  subjection,  and  wasted 
its  resources.  It  has  been  fitly  termed  the  Naboth’s 
Vineyard  of  the  Far  East,”  coveted  by  great  nations 
both  in  ancient  and  modern  times. 

Its  people  lay  claim  to  a history  of  four  thousand 
years.  Centuries  before  the  Christian  era  it  had  expe- 
rienced invasion  both  from  China  and  Japan,  and 
through  the  succeeding  ages  it  was  dominated  by  one 
or  the  other  at  recurring  periods.  When  the  Mongols 
became  powerful  under  the  Manchu  sovereigns,  and  be- 
fore their  conquest  of  China,  Korea  felt  the  devastating 
effects  of  their  armies.  In  modern  times  the  kingdom 
sent  embassies  and  paid  tribute  concurrently  to  China 
and  Japan,  up  to  1832,  when  these  evidences  of  vassal- 
age  ceased  respecting  Japan,  though  China  continued 
to  exercise  suzerainty  until  her  overlordship  was  com- 
pletely removed  by  the  late  Chinese- Japanese  war. 
During  the  last  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  Korean 


308 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


territory  has  been  invaded  by  four  of  the  nations  of 
the  West,  France,  the  United  States,  Great  Britain,  and 
Russia.  To-day  it  is  a threatening  cause  of  conflict 
between  Japan  and  Russia. 

European  commercial  activity,  which  followed  the 
maritime  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese  in  the  fifteenth 
and  sixteenth  centuries,  found  nothing  to  attract  it  in 
poverty-stricken  Korea,  exhausted  by  war  and  taxation. 
The  first  recorded  formal  attempt  to  open  trade  with 
Korea  took  place  in  1832,  when  the  British  East  India 
Company  fitted  out  a ship  at  Canton  and  sent  her  on  a 
voyage  of  commercial  exploration  to  that  country.  Dr. 
Gutzlaff,  the  German  missionary,  then  in  the  service  of 
the  American  Board  of  Missions,  went  as  a passenger 
in  the  hope  of  finding  an  opening  for  mission  work. 
The  vessel  spent  a month  on  the  southern  coast,  and 
presents  were  sent  to  the  king  of  Korea,  but  they  were 
refused  by  him.  Dr.  Gutzlaff,  through  his  knowledge 
of  the  Chinese  language,  was  able  to  communicate  with 
the  natives,  and  occupied  himself  with  medical  atten- 
tion to  the  people,  planting  potatoes  and  teaching  their 
cultivation,  and  with  futile  efforts  at  the  distribution  of 
Bibles  and  works  on  geography  and  mathematics  in 
Chinese  translations.  The  expedition  was  both  a com- 
mercial and  religious  failure.^ 

1 For  account  of  early  Dutch  intercourse  (1653),  Narrative  of  an  Un- 
lucky Voyage  and  Shipwreck  on  the  Coast  of  Corea,  by  Henry  Hamel, 
republished  in  Corea,  Without  and  Within,  by  W.  E.  Griffis,  Philadel- 
phia, 1885.  Voyages  along  the  Coast  of  China,  etc.,  by  Charles  Gutz- 
laff, New  York,  1833,  pp.  254,  332.  Corea,  The  Hermit  Nation,  by 
W.  E.  Griffis,  New  York,  1897,  pp.  169,  359  ; China  and  Her  Neighbors, 
by  R.  S.  Gundry,  London,  1893. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


309 


The  first  effort  to  introduce  Christianity  into  Korea 
was  in  1783,  and  had  its  origin  with  the  French  Jes- 
uits then  established  at  Peking.  Although  the  new 
religion  was  strictly  forbidden,  and  its  propagators  and 
adherents  were  visited  with  bitter  persecution,  for  three 
quarters  of  a century  the  Catholic  missionaries,  with  a 
heroic  devotion  undaunted  by  expulsion  and  death, 
persisted  in  their  efforts  and  were  rewarded  by  some 
degree  of  success.  During  this  period  measures  were 
adopted  at  various  times  for  the  extermination  of  the 
hated  foreign  sect,  but  the  work  of  the  missions  was 
prosecuted  in  secret,  and  the  native  Christians  by  thou- 
sands continued  true  to  their  faith. 

In  1866  a fresh  outbreak  of  persecution  occurred, 
and  the  government  resolved  to  utterly  extirpate  the 
foreign  religion.  Three  bishops  and  seventeen  priests 
were  cruelly  put  to  death  by  the  express  order  of  the 
authorities,  and  only  three  escaped  and  fled  to  China. 
The  martyrdom  of  the  foreign  clergy  was  also  attended 
with  the  slaughter  of  several  thousand  native  converts. 
The  missionaries  executed  by  the  government  were, 
with  few  exceptions,  French  subjects,  and  the  diplo- 
matic representative  of  Napoleon  III.  at  Peking  imme- 
diately took  steps  to  inflict  exemplary  punishment  upon 
the  Koreans. 

In  October,  1866,  the  French  admiral,  with  six  ves- 
sels and  600  men,  reached  Korean  waters  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Chemulpo,  destined  for  the  capital  to  dethrone 
the  king  and  punish  his  officials  for  the  murder  of  the 
French  clergy.  He  captured  and  burned  Kang-wa,  a 
city  of  20,000  inhabitants,  situated  on  an  island  in  the 


310  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

bay,  but  found  the  Korean  army  gathered  in  large  force 
to  dispute  his  progress.  A portion  of  his  command  fell 
into  an  ambush,  suffered  heavy  loss,  and  were  forced  to 
retreat.  Minister  Bui-lingame,  in  his  report  of  the  ex- 
pedition, wrote  : Admiral  Roze,  probably  finding  that 

nothing  could  be  done  with  his  limited  force,  left  Co- 
rea to  recruit  it,  with  which  he  cannot  return  until  next 
spring  or  summer.”  But  when  the  news  of  the  failure 
reached  Napoleon,  he  had  other  and  more  pressing  need 
for  his  army  and  navy,  and  after  the  war  with  Ger- 
many the  new  French  government  was  content  to  drop 
the  Korean  affair.^ 

It  was  least  to  be  expected  that  the  United  States 
would  be  the  next  nation  to  engage  in  a conflict  with 
this  far-off  country,  but  an  event  occurred  in  the  same 
year  the  French  priests  were  executed  which  was  to 
bring  about  such  a result.  On  the  8th  of  August, 
1866,  an  American  schooner,  the  General  Sherman, 
chartered  by  a British  firm  in  Tientsin  and  laden  by 
it  with  a cargo  of  merchandise,  left  Chefoo,  Chma,  for 
Korea  on  a trading  venture.  It  had  on  board  three 
Americans,  the  captain,  mate,  and  overseer,  two  British 
subjects,  the  supercargo  and  interpreter,  and  a crew  of 
fifteen  or  twenty  Chinese.  The  vessel  entered  the  Ta 
Tong  River  and  ascended  it  to  the  vicinity  of  Ping  An, 
where  a few  days  afterwards  the  entire  crew  were  killed 
and  the  vessel  burned. 

The  accounts  differ  as  to  the  circumstances  attending 

1 Histoire  de  I’Eglise  de  Corde,  par  Ch.  Dallet,  Paris,  1874  ; Griffis’s 
Corea,  The  Hermit  Kingdom,  pp.  373,  577  ; Gundry’s  China,  228  ; U.  S. 
Dip.  Cor.  1866,  p.  536  ; 1867,  pp.  416,  419-426. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


311 


this  event.  The  Korean  government  reported  that  the 
crew  provoked  an  altercation  with  the  people  of  the 
vicinity  which  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  crew  and 
destruction  of  the  vessel.  Another  account  was  that 
the  crew  were  taken  prisoners  by  the  governor  of  the 
province  and  decapitated  by  order  of  the  king.  Two 
American  naval  vessels,  dispatched  in  1866  and  1867  to 
the  vicinity,  brought  back  the  same  conflicting  reports. 

The  vessel  was  engaged  in  an  illicit  trade,  as  all 
intercourse  with  foreigners  was  forbidden  by  Korean 
law.  A most  unfavorable  time  was  selected  for  the  voy- 
age, following  the  massacre  of  the  foreign  missionaries 
and  the  Christians,  and  when  the  French  government 
was  in  active  preparation  for  its  warlike  expedition. 
It  was  currently  reported  that  one  object  of  the  voyage 
was  to  plunder  the  tombs  of  the  kings  at  Ping  An,  and 
the  fact  that  the  schooner  was  heavily  armed  lent  color 
to  this  report.  This  latter  fact,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr. 
Burhngame,  may  have  led  the  Koreans  to  confound 
them  with  the  French. 

Two  months  before  the  destruction  of  the  General 
Sherman,  another  American  ship,  the  Surprise,  was 
wrecked  on  the  Korean  coast.  The  crew  were  kindly 
treated  by  the  authorities,  transported  on  horseback  and 
with  all  necessary  comforts  to  the  northern  frontier,  and' 
delivered  to  the  Chinese  officials.  By  the  latter  they 
were  harshly  received  and  they  secured  their  release  only 
through  the  intervention  of  a Catholic  priest,  who  was 
presented  by  Congress  with  a gold  watch  for  his  kind- 
ness, accompanied  by  the  thanks  of  the  President. 

Minister  Burlingame  reported  the  case  of  the  General 


312  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Sherman  to  the  American  admiral  on  the  Asiatic  sta- 
tion, with  a suggestion  that  he  inquire  into  the  facts 
and  report  the  same  to  the  government  at  Washington 
for  instructions.  The  case  was  likewise  reported  by  the 
British  minister  to  the  British  naval  commander.  In 
view  of  these  events  Mr.  Burlingame  anticipated  that 
a large  fleet  of  French,  American,  and  British  vessels 
would  be  in  Korean  waters  the  next  year,  and  he  wrote 
the  Secretary  of  State : If  my  advice  can  have  any 

weight,  it  will  be  that  our  presence  there  should  rather 
restrain  than  promote  aggression,  and  serve  to  limit 
action  to  such  satisfaction  only  as  great  and  civilized 
nations  should,  under  the  circumstances,  have  from  the 
ignorant  and  weak.’’  Unfortunately  Mr.  Burlingame 
did  not  remain  in  the  legation,  and  other  counsels  pre- 
vailed at  Washington. 

The  investigations  made  by  the  American  vessels 
sent  by  the  admiral  to  Korea  did  not  seem  to  justify 
any  action  and  none  was  taken.  The  same  course  was 
adopted  by  the  British  government.  But  a year  later 
the  United  States  consul-general  at  Shanghai,  Mr. 
George  F.  Seward,  reported  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
that  he  had  learned  of  the  arrival  at  Shanghai  of  a 
Catholic  priest  and  a party  of  Koreans,  who  had  been 
sent  by  the  Korean  government  to  ascertain  if  an  em- 
bassy would  be  kindly  received  if  sent  to  America  and 
France  to  explain  and  make  reparation  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  General  Sherman  and  the  murder  of  the 
French  missionaries.  His  informant,  also,  told  Mr. 
Seward  that  Korea  was  ready  to  make  commercial  trea- 
ties and  open  up  the  country  to  foreign  trade. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


313 


Upon  this  information  the  consul-general  proposed 
that  he  be  sent  to  Korea,  with  a naval  force  consisting 
of  two  or  more  of  the  men-of-war  on  the  Asiatic  sta- 
tion, to  ask  for  an  official  explanation  of  the  Sherman 
affair,  and  to  negotiate,  if  possible,  a treaty  of  amity 
and  of  commerce.”  Secretary  Fish  communicated  this 
information  to  the  American  minister  at  Peking,  Mr. 
Low,  and  stated  to  him  that  it  has  been  decided  to 
authorize  negotiations  to  be  had  with  the  authorities  of 
Corea,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a treaty  for  the  pro- 
tection of  shipwrecked  mariners,  and  to  intrust  the 
conduct  of  the  negotiations  to  you.  Should  the  oppor- 
tunity seem  favorable  for  obtaining  commercial  advan- 
tages in  Corea,  the  proposed  treaty  should  include 
provisions  to  that  effect.”  Reference  has  been  made 
to  the  resolution  introduced  in  Congress  in  1845,  look- 
ing to  the  opening  of  trade  with  Korea  (page  142)  and 
the  subject  had  been  from  that  date  in  the  mind  of  the 
government.  Mr.  Low  was  instructed  to  exercise  pru- 
dence and  discretion,  to  maintain  firmly  the  right  of 
the  United  States  to  have  their  seamen  protected,  and 
to  avoid  a conflict  by  force  unless  it  cannot  be  avoided 
without  dishonor.”  He  was  also  informed  that  the 
admiral  in  command  of  the  Asiatic  squadron  had  been 
directed  to  accompany  him,  ^^with  a display  of  force 
adequate  to  support  the  dignity  of  the  United  States.” 
From  the  outset  Mr.  Low  manifested  a want  of  confi- 
dence in  the  expedition,  but  he  entered  resolutely  upon 
the  execution  of  the  instructions  of  his  government. 
Admiral  Rodgers  and  Consul-General  Seward  were  in- 
vited to  Peking  for  conference,  and  the  Chinese  gov- 


314  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

eminent  was  asked  to  notify  the  Korean  authorities  of 
the  coming  of  the  American  minister  and  the  object 
of  his  visit.  The  Tsung-li  Yamen  rephed  that  though 
Corea  is  regarded  as  a country  subordinate  to  China, 
yet  she  is  w^holly  independent  in  everything  that  relates 
to  her  government,  her  rehgion,  her  prohibitions,  and 
her  laws,”  and  that  though  the  request  ^^was  an  ex- 
traordinary favor,  quite  in  excess  of  usage,”  the  notice 
would  be  sent. 

On  May  30,  1871,  the  American  minister,  escorted 
by  Admiral  Rodgers  in  his  flagship,  with  four  other 
naval  vessels,  appeared  in  Korean  waters  near  Che- 
mulpo, the  harbor  nearest  to  the  capital.  Some  diffi- 
culty was  experienced  in  finding  officials  with  whom  to 
communicate,  but  notice  was  given  that  the  mission  of 
the  squadron  was  peaceful,  that  it  would  remain  in  the 
vicinity  till  communication  could  be  had  with  the  king, 
and  that  meanwhile  some  of  the  ships  would  be  sent  up 
the  channel  nearer  the  capital  to  make  surveys.  Two 
days  after  their  arrival,  two  of  the  vessels,  with  four 
steam  launches  started  up  the  narrow  channel  leading 
to  the  city  of  Kang-wa  destroyed  by  the  French,  and 
the  sea-gate  to  the  capital.  Here  they  were  fired  upon 
by  the  Korean  forts.  The  fire  was  returned  by  the 
ships  and  the  forts  silenced  without  loss  on  the  part  of 
the  Americans. 

This  action  satisfied  Mr.  Low  that  the  government 
of  Korea  was  determined  to  resist  all  intercourse  and 
that  his  mission  was  a failure.  Nothing  remained  to 
be  done,  in  his  opinion,  but  to  prevent  this  attack  from 
being  construed  into  a defeat  of  the  barbarians  ” and 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


315 


from  injuring  American  prestige  in  China.  It  was 
decided  to  demand  from  the  local  authorities  an  apo- 
logy for  this  attack,  and,  in  its  default,  to  inflict  some 
exemplary  punishment.  On  June  10,  ten  days  having 
expired  without  the  receipt  of  the  requisite  apology,  a 
force  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men  was  landed  from 
the  squadron  and  destroyed  the  forts  which  had  fired 
upon  the  vessels,  it  having  been  determined  to  confine 
the  punitive  operations  to  them. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  three  killed  and  nine 
wounded.  Among  the  killed  was  Lieutenant  McKee, 
who  in  the  assault  was  the  first  to  mount  the  parapet 
and  leap  inside  the  fort.  His  father  had  fallen  in  the 
Mexican  war  at  the  head  of  his  men.^  Mr.  Low  reports 
that  “ about  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  enemy’s  dead 
were  counted  lying  on  the  field,  fifty  flags,  and  several 
prisoners  of  war  were  captured  and  brought  away.  . . . 
All  accounts  concur  in  the  statement  that  the  Coreans 
fought  with  desperation,  rarely  equaled  and  never  ex- 
celled by  any  people.”  Such  is  the  record  of  America’s 
first  contact  with  the  Hermit  Kingdom. 

During  the  interval  between  the  first  attack  and  the 
assault  upon  the  forts,  some  interesting  correspond- 
ence had  taken  place  between  the  Korean  ofiicials  and 
Minister  Low.  Two  days  after  the  first  firing  upon 
the  vessels  the  governor  of  the  province  sent  him  a 

^ “ In  the  chapel  of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  a tasteful  mural 
tablet  ‘ erected  by  his  brother  naval  officers  of  the  Asiatic  squadron,’  with 
the  naval  emblems  — sword,  belt,  anchor,  and  glory-wreath  — in  medal- 
lion, and  inscription  on  a shield  beneath,  keeps  green  the  memory  of  an 
unselfish  patriot  and  a gallant  officer,”  Griffis’s  Corea,  The  Hermit  King- 
dom, 418. 


316  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

communication  protesting  against  the  armed  vessels  en- 
tering into  the  narrow  strait  whose  passage  was  guarded 
by  forts.  He  says : Our  kingdom  is  placed  east  of 

the  Eastern  sea.  Your  honored  country  is  located  west 
of  the  Western  ocean.  All  wind  and  sands  for  the 
extent  of  70,000  li.  For  four  thousand  years  there  has 
been  no  communication  between  your  country  and  ours. 
It  may  be  said  that  it  is  Heaven’s  limitation  that  has 
placed  us  so  remote  from  each  other,  and  earth  that 
has  hung  us  so  far  apart  as  to  cut  us  off  from  each 
other.  . . . There  has  formerly  been  not  a particle  of 
ill  feeling  between  us.  Why  should  arms  now  drag  us 
into  mutual  resentment  ? If  you  ask  us  to  negotiate 
and  carry  our  friendly  relations,  then  let  me  ask  how 
can  four  thousand  years’  ceremonies,  music,  literature, 
and  all  things,  be,  without  sufficient  reason,  broken  up 
and  cast  away  ? ...  It  would  be  better  early  to  make 
out  a right  course  of  action  and  each  remain  peacefully 
in  his  own  place.  We  inform  you  that  you  may  ponder 
and  be  enlightened.”  Wisely  did  Mr.  Low  conclude 
that  further  negotiation  with  such  a people,  either  by 
diplomacy  or  the  cannon,  would  be  of  no  avail. 

On  his  return  to  China  the  minister  felt  it  his  duty 
to  report  to  the  Department  of  State  that  the  informa- 
tion upon  which  Secretary  Fish  had  ordered  the  expedi- 
tion was  entirely  without  foundation.  I feel  bound 
to  say,”  he  wrote,  that  the  consul-general’s  informant 
fabricated,  for  ulterior  and  base  purposes,  the  infor- 
mation embodied  in  the  dispatches  before  referred  to. 
There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  contained  the 
least  shadow  of  truth.”  The  President  in  his  annual 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


317 


message  of  1871  reported  the  facts  to  Congress,  with 
copies  of  the  correspondence,  and  said,  I leave  the  sub- 
ject for  such  action  as  Congress  may  see  fit  to  take.’’ 
But  there  was  no  further  action,  as  none  could  properly 
be  taken  respecting  an  unwarranted  enterprise  so  injudi- 
ciously inaugurated,  which  placed  the  American,  minis- 
ter and  the  navy  in  a false  fight  before  the  world,  and 
which  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  serious  blunder  of 
American  diplomacy  in  the  Orient.^ 

The  official  record  is  sufficiently  humiliating  to  Amer- 
icans, but  a vein  of  the  ludicrous  is  given  to  it  when 
it  is  learned  from  Consul-General  Seward’s  reports  that 
his  informant  was  an  American  adventurer  named 
Jenkins,  who  had  misled  him  deliberately  to  cover 
an  unlawful  expedition  which  he  was  then  organizing 
in  conjunction  with  a French  priest  and  a German 
described  by  Mr.  Seward  as  a Hamburg  citizen  and 
referred  to  by  historians  of  the  country  as  a Jewish 
peddler.”  The  priest  joined  the  expedition  in  the 
hope  that  it  might  be  the  means  of  opening  the  coun- 
try to  missions,  he  having  been  expelled  from  it.  Mr. 
Seward  says  the  expedition  had  ^^for  its  object  to 
exhume  the  remains  of  a dead  sovereign,  and  to  hold 
the  bones  for  profit.” 

The  money  to  charter  and  arm  a vessel  flying  the 
German  flag  was  furnished  by  Jenkins.  The  German, 
who  had  made  several  surreptitious  visits  to  Korea, 
directed  the  movement.  With  a crew  of  Chinese  and 

1 U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1867,  pt.  i.  414,  427,  459  ; 1868,  pt.  i.  544-551  ; 
For.  Rel.  1870,  pp.  333-339,  362  ; 1871,  pp.  73,  111,  115,  127-149  ; 1874, 
p.  254  ; 7 Presidents*  Messages,  145,  Ex.  Doc.  1 pt.  3,  42d  Cong.  2d 
Sess.  275  ; Griffis’  Corea,  391-395  ; 503-419  ; Gundry’s  China,  240. 


318  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Manila-men  a descent  was  made  on  the  Korean  coast 
and  the  locality  of  the  tomb  reached.  The  earth  was 
removed  from  the  mound,  but  the  sarcophagus  was 
found  to  be  too  strong  for  the  shovels  and  other  instru- 
ments carried  by  the  workmen.  On  the  return  of  the 
armed  party  to  the  vessel,  one  of  the  crew  captured  a 
calf,  and  was  carrying  it  away  when  he  was  attacked 
by  the  natives  and  a general  conflict  followed,  result- 
ing in  the  loss  of  some  of  the  crew  and  the  killing  of 
a number  of  the  Koreans.  This  action  defeated  the 
object  of  the  expedition  and  the  party  returned  to 
Shanghai,  where  Mr.  Seward  caused  the  arrest  and  trial 
of  Jenkins,  on  the  charge  of  fitting  out  a hostile  expe- 
dition. He  was  acquitted  upon  a Scotch  verdict  of 
‘‘  not  proven,’’  but  Mr.  Seward  states  that  there  was  no 
question  of  his  guilty  connection  with  the  disgraceful 
affair.^ 

Just  before  the  massacre  of  the  French  and  native 
Christians  in  1866  a Russian  man-of-war  appeared  off 
Gensan,  a port  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsifla, 
and  demanded  the  right  to  trade,  but  the  request  was 
refused.  In  1869  the  German  minister  to  Japan  made 
a visit  to  the  Japanese  settlement  at  Fusan,  and  sought 
through  a Japanese,  whom  he  had  brought  on  his  ship, 
to  open  negotiations ; but  the  Korean  authorities  not 
only  refused  to  receive  the  proposals,  but  threatened  to 
break  off  all  relations  with  the  Japanese  settlement  if 
the  effort  was  persisted  in ; whereupon  the  minister 
quietly  returned  to  his  post  at  Tokio. 

1 U.  S.  Dip.  Cor.  1868,  pt.  i.  548  ; For.  Rel.  1870,  p.  337 ; Griffis’s 
Corea,  chap.  xlv. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


319 


The  visits  of  the  French  and  American  squadrons 
and  their  withdrawal  without  accompHshing  their  pur- 
pose were  interpreted  by  the  Koreans  as  great  military 
triumphs,  and  made  them  even  more  determined  in 
their  policy  of  exclusion  over  the  foreigners.  For  some 
years  after  these  events  the  Western  powers  desisted 
from  further  attempts  to  hold  intercourse  with  them. 
The  Japanese,  after  the  reinstatement  of  the  Mikado 
in  power,  made  an  effort  to  have  the  former  relations 
between  the  two  governments  reestablished,  with  a 
renewal  of  the  Korean  embassies  and  tribute,  but  the 
effort  was  haughtily  rejected  by  the  Koreans,  influ- 
enced, it  is  believed,  to  this  course  by  the  Chinese. 
Further  attempts  which  were  made  to  establish  inter- 
course were  futile,  and  the  Japanese  settlement  at 
Fusan  on  the  southern  end  of  the  peninsula  was  greatly 
restricted  in  its  privileges.  The  Japanese  were  incensed 
at  this  treatment,  and  a large  party  in  the  country 
looked  forward  hopefully  to  another  conflict  with  their 
neighbors  which  might  bring  them  again  under  subjec- 
tion to  the  Island  Empire. 

An  opportunity  to  realize  their  hopes  seemed  to  offer 
itself  in  1875,  when  a Japanese  man-of-war,  cruising 
along  the  coast,  was  attacked  by  the  same  forts  which 
had  been  the  scene  of  conflict  with  the  French  and 
American  squadrons.  Japan  seemed  ready  to  declare 
war,  but  more  sober  counsels  prevailed,  and  it  was 
determined  first  to  send  a mission  to  Korea  and  solicit 
a treaty  of  intercourse  and  commerce.  If  such  a treaty 
should  be  refused,  war  was  to  follow.  An  able  repre- 
sentative was  sent  to  Peking  to  notify  the  Chinese 


320 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


government  of  the  purpose  of  Japan  in  dispatching  a 
mission  to  Korea,  and  to  ascertain  whether  its  suzerain 
authority  would  be  infringed  by  this  act.  The  Chinese 
government,  fearing  it  might  be  held  responsible  for 
the  acts  of  Korea  against  the  French  and  Americans, 
disclaimed  any  control  over  that  kingdom  in  its  treaty 
relations,  which  left  Japan  free  to  pursue  its  plans. 

The  mission,  consisting  of  a prominent  general  of 
the  army  and  Inouye  Kaoru,  an  experienced  statesman, 
was  accompanied  by  two  men-of-war  and  three  trans- 
ports carrying  a force  of  eight  hundred  marines.  The 
squadron  anchored  in  the  same  waters  as  their  French 
and  American  predecessors.  Acting  upon  the  advice 
of  the  Chinese  government,  the  Korean  king  sent  a 
deputation  to  meet  the  Japanese  commissioners  and 
with  little  delay  a treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  was 
signed,  February  27,  1876,  Korea  being  unwilhng  to 
risk  a conflict  with  its  more  powerful  neighbor  by  a 
further  refusal  of  intercourse. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  independence  of 
Korea  was  recognized,  three  Korean  ports  were  to  be 
opened  to  Japanese  trade,  and  a diplomatic  minister 
was  to  reside  at  Seoul,  the  capital.  The  Korean  com- 
missioners during  the  negotiations  made  it  clear  that 
the  treaty  was  to  be  confined  in  its  application  to 
Japan  and  that  all  Western  nations  were  to  be  excluded 
from  its  benefits.  They  also  pleaded  with  the  Japa- 
nese to  exert  their  influence  to  prevent  strangers  from 
a distance  attempting  to  visit  their  country.  The  same 
spirit  was  shown  in  the  dispatch  of  the  Korean  embassy 
to  Tokio  after  the  signature  of  the  treaty.  It  came,  as 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


321 


similar  Korean  embassies  bad  come  centuries  before, 
with  great  display  of  barbaric  splendor,  the  ambassador 
being  borne  on  a platform  covered  with  tiger  skins, 
and  resting  on  the  shoulders  of  eight  men,  with  a 
servant  bearing  an  umbrella  of  state  over  his  head. 
During  his  stay  in  Japan  he  resisted  all  attempts  of 
foreigners,  officials  or  others,  to  have  any  intercourse 
with  him.  The  treaty  was  rather  a renewal  of  the 
ancient  relations,  than  a manifestation  of  any  disposi- 
tion to  open  the  country  to  foreign  intercourse.^ 

Encouraged,  however,  by  the  success  of  the  Japa- 
nese, various  European  nations  continued  their  efforts 
to  communicate  with  the  government  at  Seoul.  A 
British  vessel  was  wrecked  on  the  island  of  Quelpart  in 
1878,  and  the  Koreans  rescued  the  crew,  salved  the 
cargo,  provided  transportation  for  both  to  Nagasaki, 
and  refused  to  accept  any  compensation  for  their  ser- 
vices. Taking  advantage  of  this  event,  the  British 
secretary  of  legation  at  Tokio  was  sent  in  a British 
naval  vessel,  ostensibly  to  make  formal  acknowledg- 
ment of  this  worthy  conduct,  but  with  instructions  to 
establish  permanent  intercourse  with  the  Korean  au- 
thorities, if  possible ; but  his  mission  to  that  end  was  a 
failure. 

Other  attempts  followed  in  1880  and  1881.  Eussian, 
British,  and  French  naval  vessels  touched  at  different 
ports,  and  sought  to  communicate  with  the  authorities 


^ Leading  Men  of  Japan,  by  Charles  Lanman,  New  York,  1883,  pp. 
356-386  ; Griffis’s  Corea,  420-423  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1876,  pp.  370,  376  ; 
Gundry’s  China,  244  ; Problems  of  the  Far  East,  by  George  N.  Curzon, 
1896,  p.  191. 


322  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

at  Seoul,  but  all  their  applications  were  firmly  declined. 
The  Duke  of  Genoa,  making  a tour  of  the  world  in  an 
Italian  man-of-war,  touched  at  Fusan,  hoping  through 
the  Japanese  agents  at  that  settlement  to  effect  some 
communication  with  the  king,  but  the  local  officials  re- 
fused to  receive  or  forward  his  letters.  Not  discouraged, 
he  went  to  Gensan,  and  spent  some  time  in  the  harbor 
of  Port  Lazareff,  establishing  pleasant  relations  with 
the  local  authorities.  He  threatened  that  unless  they 
transmitted  his  letter  to  the  king  at  the  capital  he  would 
land  a force  of  marines  and  send  it  by  them  ; but  the 
most  he  could  accomplish  was  to  have  the  prefect  of 
the  port  make  a copy  of  his  letter,  with  the  promise  to 
send  it  with  his  report  of  the  visit  to  the  governor  of 
the  province.^ 

But  notwithstanding  this  outward  show  of  a fixed 
determination  to  keep  the  Land  of  the  Morning  Calm  ’’ 
in  strict  seclusion,  influences  were  at  work  which  were 
destined  to  bring  about  a change  in  the  policy  of  the 
government.  Members  of  the  embassy  to  Japan,  after 
seeing  the  advance  of  that  country  under  foreign  influ- 
ence, had  returned  with  modified  views  as  to  the  true 
interests  of  their  people.  The  presence  at  Seoul  of 
Japanese  and  Chinese  diplomatic  officials  and  of  sol- 
diers armed  and  drilled  in  Western  style  were  affording 
an  insight,  even  though  imperfect,  of  the  benefits  of 
modern  civilization. 

In  1881  a Korean  attached  to  the  Chinese  legation 
in  Japan  sent  a notable  memorial  to  the  king,  which 
attracted  great  attention  at  the  court  of  Seoul.  He 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1879,  p.  612  ; Griffis’s  Corea,  426,  428  ; Gundry’s 
China,  245. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


323 


pointed  out  that  the  most  threatening  danger  to  his 
country  was  from  Russia,  and  that  it  should  abandon 
its  seclusion  and  look  for  friends  among  the  Western 
nations  as  well  as  China  and  Japan.  Of  these  nations, 
he  said,  the  one  most  friendly  to  Asiatic  countries  was 
the  United  States,  and  he  urged  the  king  to  secure  its 
friendship  by  a treaty.  The  memorial  reached  the  cap- 
ital at  a favorable  time,  as  a change  of  administration 
had  brought  hberal  advisers  into  power.  On  the  re- 
turn of  the  author  to  Seoul,  delegates  were  sent  to 
Tientsin  to  confer  with  the  viceroy  Li  Hung  Chang, 
who  at  that  time  was  directing  the  foreign  poHcy  of 
China.  That  shrewd  statesman  readily  saw  that  Korea 
could  not  maintain  its  policy  of  seclusion,  and  he  en- 
couraged the  plan  of  a treaty  with  the  United  States. 

The  failure  of  the  ill-advised  expedition  of  1871  had 
not  discouraged  the  government  at  Washington,  and  it 
still  cherished  the  hope  of  securing  a commercial  foot- 
hold in  the  kingdom.  In  1878  Senator  Sargent,  of 
California,  introduced  a resolution  requesting  the  Presi- 
dent to  appoint  a commissioner  to  represent  this  coun- 
try in  an  effort  to  arrange,  by  peaceful  means,  ...  a 
treaty  of  peace  and  commerce  between  the  United  States 
and  the  kingdom  of  Corea.’’  In  a speech  which  he 
made  on  this  resolution  the  senator  justified  the  action 
of  the  Koreans  respecting  the  General  Sherman,  and 
condemned  the  attacks  upon  the  forts  by  the  navy  in 
1871.  Although  no  formal  action  was  taken  on  the 
resolution,  the  following  year  Commodore  R.  W.  Shu- 
feldt  was  dispatched  in  a naval  vessel  to  the  China 
seas,  with  instructions  to  make,  if  possible,  a treaty  with 


324  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Korea.  He  visited  Fusan  in  1880  in  an  effort  to  exe- 
cute his  instructions,  and  met  with  the  same  refusal 
that  other  foreign  officials  had  experienced.  But  the 
American  legation  in  Peking  had  received  intimations 
of  the  change  of  sentiment  in  the  Korean  court,  and 
Commodore  Shufeldt  was  temporarily  detached  from  sea 
service  and  ordered  to  report  to  the  minister  at  the 
Chinese  capital,  with  the  object  of  studying  the  situa- 
tion of  affairs,  so  that  he  might  be  prepared  to  take 
advantage  of  any  favorable  opportunity  which  should 
present  itself  in  Korea. 

The  commodore  spent  the  winter  of  1881-2  in  Pe- 
king, and  by  March  it  became  known  to  the  legation 
through  Li  Hung  Chang  that  the  Korean  government 
was  willing  to  enter  into  a treaty  with  the  United 
States.  As  soon  as  the  season  would  permit,  steps 
were  taken  to  make  ready  a naval  vessel,  and  on  May 
7 Commodore  Shufeldt  in  a United  States  man-of-war 
arrived  at  Chemulpo,  with  full  power  to  negotiate  and 
sign  a treaty.  He  was  accompanied  by  three  Chinese 
naval  vessels  bearing  Chinese  commissioners,  likewise 
authorized  to  make  a treaty  on  behalf  of  China.  Both 
parties  being  of  the  same  mind  as  to  the  general  object, 
little  time  was  required  to  agree  upon  the  details.  On 
May  24, 1882,  a treaty  of  peace,  amity,  commerce  and 
navigation  ’’  between  the  United  States  and  the  king- 
dom of  Korea  was  signed,  with  simple  ceremonies,  in  a 
temporary  pavilion  on  the  shore  opposite  the  anchorage 
of  the  commodore’s  vessel,  and  the  Hermit  Kingdom” 
of  the  East  entered  into  the  family  of  nations  under  the 
auspices  of  the  young  republic  of  the  West. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


325 


Commodore  Shufeldt  had,  at  the  date  of  the  signing 
of  the  treaty,  served  forty-three  years  in  the  navy,  dur- 
ing which  he  had  performed  important  duties  in  connec- 
tion with  the  slave  trade  and  in  the  Civil  War.  This 
diplomatic  mission  did  not  come  to  him  by  chance,  but 
he,  like  Perry,  was  selected  for  it  because  of  his  fitness 
to  perform  its  duties.  He  had  discharged  with  credit 
a diplomatic  trust  in  Mexico  during  the  Civil  War,  and 
had  made  himself  conversant  with  Korean  affairs  by 
two  previous  visits  to  that  country.  His  last  diplomatic 
success  added  another  worthy  page  to  the  history  of 
the  peaceful  achievements  of  the  American  navy. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  United  States  was  ad- 
mitted to  trade  in  the  three  ports  already  opened  to  the 
Japanese,  and  to  such  as  might  be  afterwards  opened  to 
foreign  commerce  ; diplomatic  and  consular  officers  were 
to  be  received ; provision  was  made  for  the  case  of  ship- 
wrecked vessels,  and  other  usual  stipulations  of  com- 
mercial treaties ; traffic  in  opium  was  prohibited  ; and 
exterritorial  jurisdiction  was  given  to  American  consuls, 
— but  the  following  provision  was  inserted  : When- 

ever the  king  of  Chosen  shall  have  so  far  modified  and 
reformed  the  statutes  and  judicial  procedure  of  his 
kingdom  that,  in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States, 
they  conform  to  the  laws  and  course  of  justice  in  the 
United  States,  the  right  of  exterritorial  jurisdiction 
over  United  States  citizens  in  Chosen  shall  be  aban- 
doned ; ’’  and  the  two  countries  were  to  be  open  to  the 
residence  respectively  of  the  citizens  and  subjects  of 
the  other  to  pursue  their  callings  and  avocations.^ 

^ For  Sargent  resolution  and  speech,  7 Cong.  Rec.  pt.  iii.  pp.  2324, 


326  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

A leading  London  journal,  in  announcing  the  sign- 
ing of  the  American-Korean  treaty,  recalled  the  feat 
accomplished  thirty  years  before  by  Perry,  who,  over- 
coming obstacles  which  had  baffled  almost  every  Euro- 
pean nation,  and  without  firing  a shot,  or  leaving  ill- 
feeling  behind,  succeeded  in  opening  Japan  to  foreign 
intercourse,”  and  said  : The  conclusion  of  a treaty 

between  the  United  States  and  Corea  adds  another  to 
the  peaceful  successes  of  American  diplomacy  in  the  far 
East.”  And  so  it  has  resulted  that  the  establishment  of 
intercourse  with  the  Western  world  through  the  United 
States  has  been  regarded  by  the  Koreans  as  a recogni- 
tion of  the  disinterested  friendship  of  that  country. 

The  signature  of  the  treaty  was  soon  followed  by  the 
arrival  of  an  American  minister,  Mr.  Lucius  H.  Foote, 
who  was  received  by  the  king  with  much  distinction 
and  cordiality,  and  likewise  by  the  queen,  who  also  re- 
ceived the  minister’s  wife.  This  conduct  was  in  marked 
contrast  with  that  of  Japan  even,  whose  sovereign  was 
not  accessible  to  foreign  representatives  till  fourteen 
years  after  the  Perry  treaty,  and  still  more  with  that  of 
China,  which  delayed  similar  intercourse  for  a quarter 
of  a century  after  its  treaties  with  the  West. 

The  reception  of  the  American  minister  was  promptly 
followed  by  the  dispatch  of  a special  embassy  to  the 
United  States,  consisting  of  two  Koreans  of  high  rank 
with  a suitable  suite,  who  were  transported  from  Korea 

2600.  For  treaty,  Treaties  of  U.  S.  216  ; Commodore  Shufeldt’s  Report, 
May  29,  1882,  MSS.  Department  of  State  ; 8 Presidents’  Messages,  111 ; 
Griffis’s  Corea,  428-435  ; Curzon’s  Far  East,  202  ; Gundry’s  China,  247 ; 
Appleton’s  Annual  Cyclopaedia,  1882,  p.  175. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS  327 

and  returned  home  in  United  States  naval  vessels,  after 
being  received  with  great  attention  by  the  President  and 
the  American  people.  The  king  manifested  to  Minister 
Foote  his  high  appreciation  of  the  distinguished  re- 
ception his  representatives  had  received ; and  the  first 
ambassador,  in  making  similar  acknowledgment  on  his 
return,  said  : I was  born  in  the  dark ; I went  out  into 

the  light,  and  now  I have  returned  into  the  dark 
again ; I cannot  as  yet  see  my  way  clearly,  but  I hope 
to  soon.’’ 

The  year  after  the  negotiation  of  the  American  treaty 
similar  conventions  were  signed  by  the  representatives 
of  Great  Britain  and  Germany.  There  was,  however, 
in  the  British  treaty  a notable  variance  from  its  stipu- 
lations with  China,  as  it  prohibited  the  importation  of 
opium  into  Korea.^ 

The  dispatch  of  the  special  embassy  to  the  United 
States  was  the  only  representation  to  any  Western  nation 
until  the  year  1887,  when  it  was  announced  that  a min- 
ister plenipotentiary  had  been  appointed  to  the  United 
States,  and  one  other  to  represent  Korea  at  all  the 
European  courts  with  which  the  country  had  treaties. 
This  was  at  once  followed  by  an  interdiction  on  the 
part  of  China,  on  the  ground  that  Korea  was  a vassal 
state,  and  that  such  a step  could  not  be  taken  without 
first  obtaining  the  consent  of  the  emperor.  Before  the 
signature  of  the  treaty  with  the  United  States  in  1882, 
a letter  from  the  king  of  Korea  to  the  President  was 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1883,  pp.  241-245,  248-250  ; 1884,  pp.  125,  126  ; 8 
Presidents’  Messages,  174  ; Lanman’s  Leading  Men  of  Japan,  386  ; Gun- 
dry’s  China,  253,  254  ; Griffis’s  Corea,  446, 447. 


328 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


handed  to  Commodore  Shufeldt,  in  which  it  was  stated 
that  Chosen  has  been  from  ancient  times  a state  tribu- 
tary to  China/’  but  that  the  United  States  had  no  con- 
cern with  this  relation,  and  that  he  entered  into  the 
treaty  as  an  independent  sovereign,  and  on  terms  of 
equality.  And  upon  negotiating  treaties  with  other 
Western  powers  a similar  notification  was  given. 

The  attitude  of  China  in  this  respect  has  been  most 
inconsistent.  When  the  French  government  was  pro- 
posing to  call  Korea  to  account  in  1866  for  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Catholic  missionaries,  the  Tsung-li  Yamen 
explicitly  disavowed  any  responsibility  for  the  acts  of 
Korea,  and  stated  that  in  its  relations  with  other  nations 
it  was  entirely  independent.  The  same  attitude  was 
assumed  by  China  when  the  Japanese  treaty  was  made 
in  1876  and  the  American  treaty  in  1882.  An  attempt 
had  been  made  by  treaty  between  China  and  Japan  in 
1885  to  regulate  their  conflicting  relations  as  to  Korea. 
While  denying  responsibility  for  the  acts  of  that  gov- 
ernment towards  foreign  powers,  China  was  constantly 
seeking  to  control  its  intercourse  with  them. 

The  king  of  Korea,  alarmed  lest  China  should  make 
his  action  a pretext  for  war,  sent  a humble  petition  to 
the  emperor  asking  for  his  gracious  approval  of  the 
appointment  of  the  two  ministers  to  the  United  States 
and  Europe,  at  the  same  time  assuring  the  American 
representative  at  Seoul  that  he  was  resolved  to  send 
them.  The  emperor  gave  his  approval,  but  through  Li 
Hung  Chang  the  king  was  notified  that  he  must  ap- 
point only  ministers  resident,  or  of  the  third  class,  so 
as  to  be  lower  in  rank  than  the  Chinese  representative ; 


KOKEA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


329 


that  the  Korean  minister  must  apply  through  the  latter 
for  audience ; and  that  he  must  in  all  important  mat- 
ters of  his  mission  consult  secretly  with  his  Chinese 
colleague. 

Secretary  Bayard  instructed  the  American  minister 
in  Peking  to  protest  against  the  action  of  China,  and 
gave  notice  to  both  governments  that  as  the  United 
States  have  no  privity  with  the  interrelations  of  China 
and  Corea,  we  shall  treat  both  as  separate  governments 
customarily  represented  here  by  their  respective  and 
independent  agents.’’  The  conditions  fixed  by  Li  Hung 
Chang  were  ignored  by  the  Korean  king  and  minis- 
ter ; the  latter  was  received  at  W ashington  without  the 
intervention  of  the  Chinese  minister ; and  no  further 
question  has  been  raised  with  the  United  States  on  the 
subject;  but  not  until  the  war  with  Japan  in  1894- 
1895  did  China  absolutely  withdraw  her  claim  of  suze- 
rainty.^ 

The  friendly  disposition  of  the  Korean  government 
towards  the  United  States  was  evinced  soon  after  the 
treaty  in  various  ways  besides  the  exchange  of  diplo- 
matic courtesies.  The  year  following  the  reception  of 
the  minister,  Dr.  H.  N.  Allen,'^  a medical  missionary  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  of  the  United  States,  arrived. 
He  was  kindly  received  by  the  king  and  placed  in 

1 U.  S.  For.  Eel.  1888,  pp.  220-248,  380,  433-444,  453  ; 1894,  Appen- 
dix i.  29  ; Curzon’s  Far  East,  203. 

2 Dr.  Allen  has  continued  his  residence  in  Korea  up  to  the  present 
time,  and  has  so  impressed  his  own  government,  as  well  as  that  of  Korea, 
with  his  usefulness  and  prudence,  that  he  has  hy  two  presidents  been 
appointed  the  minister  of  the  United  States,  and  now  holds  that  post  with 
much  acceptability. 


330  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

charge  of  a government  hospital — a new  institution  for 
Korea  — organized  by  himself.  Two  other  American 
physicians  joined  him,  and  a medical  school  in  connec- 
tion with  the  hospital  was  organized.  An  American 
female  medical  missionary  became  the  physician  to  the 
queen  and  ladies  of  the  court.  An  American  farm  was 
estabhshed,  with  the  introduction  of  blooded  stock  and 
instruction  in  the  cultivation  of  foreign  cereals  and 
vegetables.  The  government  solicited  the  detail  of 
American  military  officers  for  the  reorganization  of  the 
army,  an  American  was  selected  as  diplomatic  adviser 
to  the  foreign  office,  schools  under  American  teachers 
were  established,  and  in  other  ways  preference  was 
shown  for  American  aid  to  the  government  and  people 
in  the  transformation  which  had  commenced.^ 

The  American  treaty  of  1882  and  those  of  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  of  1883  were  similar  in  their 
general  features  to  those  made  with  China  in  1858,  but 
they  contained  one  important  omission : the  guarantee 
of  religious  freedom.  This,  however,  did  not  deter 
Christian  missionaries  from  entering  the  country,  and 
the  king  gave  Minister  Foote  to  understand  that  mis- 
sion hospitals  and  schools  would  be  tacitly  permitted, 
and  the  work  of  both  the  Catholic  and  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries was  quietly  prosecuted  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  government. 

France  had  made  earnest  efforts  to  secure  a treaty 
stipulation  of  religious  toleration,  and  because  of  the 
refusal  of  Korea  on  this  point  no  treaty  was  made  by 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1885,  pp.  347,  353 ; 1886,  p.  222  ; 1887,  p.  253 ; 
8 Presidents’  Messages,  269,  330  ; Griffis’s  Corea,  447,  450-453. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


331 


that  government  till  1886,  when  it  secured  the  inser- 
tion of  the  following  clause  in  its  treaty  of  that  date : 

Frenchmen  resorting  to  Corea  for  the  purpose  of 
there  studying  or  teaching  the  written  or  spoken  lan- 
guage, sciences,  laws  or  arts,  shall  in  testimony  of  the 
sentiment  of  good  friendship  which  animate  the  high 
contracting  parties  always  receive  aid  and  assistance.” 
In  1888  the  American  minister  was  notified  by  the 
Korean  government  that  teaching  religion  and  open- 
ing schools  of  any  kind  are  not  authorized  by  the 
treaty,”  and  that  the  government  would  ^^not  allow 
rehgion  taught  to  our  people,”  and  the  minister  was 
asked  to  advise  his  countrymen  to  observe  this  prohibi- 
tion. 

Secretary  Bayard  held  that,  in  the  absence  of  know- 
ledge of  how  the  French  and  Korean  governments  con- 
strued the  clause  above  cited,  Americans  could  not  claim 
a warrant  for  religious  teaching  among  the  natives  from 
the  terms  of  the  French  treaty.  But  the  French  gov- 
ernment and  the  Catholic  missionaries  did  claim  such 
warrant,  and  despite  the  protest  of  the  Korean  govern- 
ment they  have  successfully  maintained  this  claim.  As 
a result  American  and  other  foreign  missionaries  have 
continued  their  labors,  and  they  have  been  attended 
with  a fair  degree  of  success.^ 

From  the  time  that  Japan,  after  the  restoration  of 
the  Mikado  in  1868,  requested  the  Koreans  to  resume 
their  ancient  tributary  relation,  a continuous  effort  was 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1884,  p.  127  ; 1886,  p.  222  ; 1888,  pp.  446-449  ; Gun- 
dry’s  China,  255  ; Report  on  Korean  Mission,  by  Rev.  A.  J.  Brown,  Pres- 
byterian Board,  New  York,  1902,  p.  7. 


332 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


made  by  the  Japanese  to  secure  a predominating  influ- 
ence in  the  kingdom.  This  was  strenuously  resisted  by 
the  Chinese,  and,  as  a result,  the  court  of  Seoul  was  the 
scene  of  constant  intrigues  and  the  overthrow  of  min- 
istries, marked  by  violence  and  barbarity.  Twice  was 
the  Japanese  representative  driven  from  Seoul  by  armed 
force  and  his  legation  premises  destroyed.  As  already 
noticed,  these  conflicts  were  sought  to  be  avoided  by 
the  treaty  negotiated  at  Tientsin  in  1885  by  Li  Hung 
Chang  and  Marquis  Ito,  but  the  intrigues  and  disorder 
continued  and  had  their  culmination  in  the  Chinese- 
Japanese  war  of  1894. 

The  causes  and  details  of  that  war  cannot  be  here 
narrated  further  than  as  they  relate  to  the  connection 
of  the  United  States  with  that  momentous  contest.^ 

In  June,  1894,  a considerable  body  of  Chinese  troops 
were  sent  to  Korea  for  the  alleged  purpose  of  putting 
down  a rebellion  which  was  threatening  the  overthrow 
of  the  Korean  government.  This  action,  claimed  by 
Japan  to  have  been  in  violation  of  the  treaty  of  1885, 
was  followed  by  the  dispatch  of  a force  of  Japanese 
troops  which  occupied  Seoul,  and  its  seaport,  and  forti- 
fied the  connecting  route.  In  the  mean  time  the  rebel- 
lion had  been  suppressed,  and  the  king  of  Korea 

^ For  causes  of  war,  Williams’s  Hist.  China,  437—144  ; Griffis’s  Corea, 
460-462  ; The  People  and  Politics  of  the  Far  East,  by  Henry  Norman, 
New  York,  1895,  pp.  359-366  ; Curzon’s  Far  East,  196-208  ; The  China- 
Japan  War,  by  “Vladimir,”  London,  1896,  pt.  i.  chap.  iii.  and  Appendix 
B ; Heroic  Japan,  A History  of  the  War  between  China  and  Japan,  by 
F.  W.  Eastlake  and  Yamada  Yoshi  Aki,  London,  1899,  pp.  i.-ix.  and 
chap.  i.  ; History  of  War  between  China  and  Japan,  by  J.  Inouye,  Osaka, 
1895,  chaps,  i.  and  ii. ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  i.  pp.  5-23. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


333 


requested  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  of  both  nations. 
The  Chinese  expressed  a willingness  to  withdraw  con- 
currently with  the  Japanese.  The  latter  declined  until 
Korea  should  adopt  such  reforms  in  government  as 
would  prevent  further  disorders.  The  king,  greatly 
alarmed  lest  his  country  should  become  the  theatre  of 
war,  appealed  to  the  resident  representatives  of  foreign 
powers  to  secure  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops. 

Mr.  Gresham,  the  Secretary  of  State,  in  view  of  the 
provision  in  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Korea  which  pledged  the  United  States  to  exert  its 
good  offices  to  bring  about  an  amicable  settlement  of 
trouble  with  other  powers,  sent  a telegraphic  instruction 
to  the  American  minister  at  Seoul  to  use  every  possi- 
ble effort  for  the  preservation  of  peaceful  conditions.’’ 
In  execution  of  this  instruction  the  minister,  acting  in 
concert  with  his  diplomatic  colleagues,  resubmitted  the 
proposal  of  the  king  of  Korea  for  a simultaneous  with- 
drawal of  troops  to  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  repre- 
sentatives, as  an  honorable  adjustment  of  the  difficulty; 
but  the  Japanese  again  declined  the  proposal. 

The  king,  upon  this  second  refusal,  being  satisfied 
that  Japan  meditated  war,  telegraphed  his  minister  in 
Washington  that  his  independence  was  seriously  men- 
aced and  directed  him  to  appeal  to  the  United  States  to 
intervene  in  favor  of  peace;  and  he  in  person  asked 
the  American  minister  in  Seoul  to  allow  him  to  take 
refuge  in  his  legation  in  case  of  necessity,  which  per- 
mission the  minister  cheerfully  granted.  Early  in  July 
the  Chinese  government  asked  the  American  minister 
at  Peking  to  telegraph  the  Secretary  of  State  in  its 


334 


AJVIERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


name  to  take  the  initiative  in  urging  the  powers  to 
unite  in  a request  to  Japan  to  withdraw  its  troops  from 
Korea.  Moved  by  these  appeals  and  by  the  natural 
inclination  of  his  government  to  do  all  that  was  proper 
to  preserve  peace  between  nations  friendly  to  the  United 
States,  Secretary  Gresham  had  an  interview  wdth  the 
Japanese  minister  in  Washington,  in  which  he  referred 
to  the  appeals  which  had  been  made  to  his  government 
by  Korea  and  China,  and  he  expressed  the  hope  that 
Japan  would  deal  kindly  and  fairly  with  her  feeble 
neighbor,  whose  helplessness  enlisted  the  sympathy  of 
the  American  government,  and  he  said  that  the  ap- 
parent determination  to  engage  in  war  on  Korean  soil 
was  nowhere  more  regretted  than  in  the  United  States. 
The  Japanese  minister  said  that  his  government  recog- 
nized the  independence  of  Korea  and  did  not  covet  its 
territory,  but  that  the  recent  troubles  had  been  caused 
by  maladministration  and  official  corruption,  and  that 
the  Japanese  troops  would  not  be  withdrawn  until 
needed  reforms  in  the  domestic  administration  of  Korea 
had  been  made. 

On  July  8 the  British  ambassador  waited  upon  Sec- 
retary Gresham,  by  direction  of  his  government,  to  as- 
certain whether  the  United  States  would  unite  with 
Great  Britain  in  an  intervention  to  avert  war  between 
China  and  Japan.  Mr.  Gresham’s  reply  was  that  his 
government  could  not  intervene  otherwise  than  as  a 
friendly  neutral ; that  it  had  already  done  so  with  Ja- 
pan ; that  the  President  did  not  feel  authorized  to  go 
further;  and  that  the  United  States  could  not  join 
another  power  even  in  a friendly  intervention. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


335 


The  efforts  of  the  United  States  to  prevent  hostili- 
ties were  not  successful,  but  the  appeals  of  Korea  and 
China  and  the  kindly  manner  in  which  the  intervention 
was  received  by  Japan  accentuated  the  high  estimate 
by  these  three  Asiatic  powers  of  the  disinterested  pol- 
icy of  the  American  government.  When  the  war  was 
declared,  a still  further  evidence  of  the  confidence  of 
these  powers  was  shown  in  the  request  of  Japan  to 
intrust  the  archives  and  property  of  its  legation  and 
consulates  and  the  interests  of  its  subjects  in  China  to 
the  care  of  the  United  States  minister  and  consuls,  and 
in  a similar  request  from  China  for  a like  service  by  the 
American  minister  and  consuls  towards  the  archives, 
property,  and  subjects  of  China  in  Japan.  This  service 
entailed  a considerable  amount  of  labor  of  a delicate 
and  sometimes  embarrassing  character,  but  it  was  dis- 
charged cheerfully,  gratuitously,  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  two  interested  countries.^ 

Out  of  this  service  there  arose  during  the  war  a case 
which  attracted  widespread  attention  and  severe  criti- 
cism of  the  American  Secretary  of  State  in  certain  quar- 
ters. Two  Japanese  youths  were  arrested  in  the  French 
section  of  the  foreign  concession  of  Shanghai  on  the 
charge  of  being  spies.  They  were  by  the  French  consrd 
turned  over  to  the  custody  of  the  American  consul- 
general,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  charge  of  the  inter- 
ests of  Japanese  subjects.  The  Chinese  government 
demanded  their  surrender,  which  the  consul-general 


^ For  efforts  at  intervention,  U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  i.  pp. 
22-39.  For  good  offices  to  Chinese  and  Japanese,  U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894, 
pp.  95,  372. 


336  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

declined  to  grant  unless  instructed  so  to  do  by  his 
government. 

The  two  Japanese  were  students  and  had  been  resi- 
dents of  the  French  concession  for  three  years  ; when 
arrested  they  were  wearing  Chinese  dress,  which  is  con- 
trary to  the  treaty  between  China  and  Japan  ; and  on 
their  persons  were  found  maps  and  memoranda  respect- 
ing the  war.  The  consul-general  reported  that,  while 
papers  in  their  possession  seemed  to  lend  a certain  sup- 
port to  the  charge,  they  were  mere  boys,  and  he  did 
not  believe  they  were  guilty.  He  feared  that  if  he 
turned  them  over  to  the  Chinese  authorities,  in  the  ex- 
cited state  of  the  country,  they  would  not  receive  a fair 
trial,  might  be  subjected  to  torture,  and  would  surely 
be  beheaded.  It  was  stated  that  during  the  Franco- 
Chinese  war,  the  Russian  consul  having  charge  of  French 
interests,  exercised  jurisdiction  over  citizens  charged 
with  crime  by  the  Chinese  authorities. 

Secretary  Gresham  held  that  the  good  offices  of 
American  officials  in  China  during  the  war  did  not  war- 
rant granting  the  Japanese  an  asylum  against  the  Chi- 
nese authorities,  that  they  were  not  entitled  to  exterri- 
torial privileges,  and  that  they  were  subject  to  trial  and 
punishment  by  the  Chinese  tribunals.  He,  therefore, 
directed  their  delivery  to  the  Chinese  officials.  The 
consul-general  reported  that  after  their  delivery  to  the 
Chinese  they  were  detained  two  weeks,  tried,  declared 
guilty  as  spies,  and  decapitated. 

The  unconditional  surrender  of  the  Japanese  stu- 
dents was  against  the  better  judgment  of  Mr.  Charles 
Denby,  Jr.,  charge  of  the  American  legation,  and  of  Mr. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


337 


Jernigan,  the  consul-general,  and  was  almost  universally 
condemned  by  the  foreign  residents  of  China.  A Euro- 
pean historian  of  the  war  declares  it  was  the  greatest 
disgrace  that  ever  sullied  the  American  flag.’’  Such 
sweeping  condemnation  is  based  upon  the  supposed  in- 
nocence of  the  accused  and  the  rumors  current  at  the 
time  that  they  were  cruelly  tortured  on  the  trial.  But 
it  is  clear  that  a Chinese  tribunal  was  the  only  one 
which  could  legally  pass  upon  their  guilt ; and  the  con- 
sul-general reported  that  the  most  authentic  information 
he  could  obtain  was  that  they  were  not  tortured.  Sec- 
retary Gresham  was  correct  in  his  action,  and  he  was 
assured  by  the  Japanese  minister  that,  in  the  opinion 
of  his  government,  the  consul-general  at  Shanghai  could 
not  have  held  the  accused  against  the  demand  of  the 
Chinese  authorities,  and  that  under  like  circumstances 
his  government  would  have  demanded  the  surrender  for 
trial  of  Chinese  in  Japan 

As  the  war  progressed  and  the  Japanese  forces  were 
triumphant  on  land  and  sea,  both  China  and  the  Euro- 
pean powers  began  to  fear  the  wide-reaching  results  for 
the  victors.  In  October,  1894,  the  British  representa- 
tive in  Washington  again  approached  the  Secretary  of 
State  with  the  inquiry  whether  the  government  of  the 
United  States  would  be  willing  to  join  with  England, 
Germany,  France,  and  Russia  in  intervening  between 
China  and  Japan.”  The  Tsung-li  Yamen,  through  Min- 
ister Denby,  made  a similar  advance.  Mr.  Gresham’s 
reply  was  that  while  the  President  earnestly  desires 

^ U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  pp.  103-126  ; “ Vladimir’s  ” China-Japan  War, 
114-116,  and  Appendix  E. 


338 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


that  China  and  Japan  shall  speedily  agree  upon  terms 
of  peace  alike  honorable  to  both,  and  not  humiliating 
to  Korea/’  he  could  not  join  the  powers  in  an  interven- 
tion. 

President  Cleveland  felt,  however,  that  the  United 
States  should  exert  its  influence  for  peace,  and  he  de- 
cided to  make  an  independent  effort  in  that  direction. 
On  November  6 the  Secretary  of  State  instructed  the 
American  minister  in  Tokio  to  represent  to  the  Japa- 
nese government  that  while  the  deplorable  war  endan- 
gered no  policy  of  the  United  States,  whose  attitude 
towards  the  belHgerents  was  that  of  an  impartial  and 
friendly  neutral,  desiring  the  welfare  of  both,  and 
cherishing  the  most  friendly  sentiments  towards  Japan, 
the  President  directed  him  to  ascertain  whether  a 
tender  of  his  good  offices  in  the  interest  of  peace 
would  be  acceptable  to  that  government.  He  was  also 
instructed  to  convey  the  caution,  which  soon  after 
became  a humiliating  reality,  that  ^^if  the  struggle 
continues  without  check  to  Japan’s  military  operations, 
it  is  not  improbable  that  other  powers  having  interests 
in  that  quarter  may  demand  a settlement  not  favorable 
to  Japan’s  future  security  and  well-being.”  The  reply 
of  Japan  to  this  overture  was  that  it  appreciated  the 
amicable  sentiments  which  prompted  the  United  States, 
but  that  the  universal  success  of  the  arms  of  Japan 
seemed  to  relieve  its  government  of  the  necessity  of 
resorting  to  the  cooperation  of  friendly  powers  for 
a cessation  of  hostilities ; that  it  would  not  press  its 
victories  beyond  the  Hmits  which  would  guarantee  to  it 
the  just  and  reasonable  fruits  of  the  war;  but  that 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS  339 

those  limits  would  not  be  reached  until  China  herself 
should  approach  Japan  directly  for  peace. 

This  declination  Was  followed  on  the  same  date  by  a 
request  from  Japan  to  the  American  minister  that  in 
the  event  of  China  desiring  to  communicate  with  Ja- 
pan upon  the  subject  of  peace,  it  should  be  done 
through  the  legation  of  the  United  States  at  Peking. 
The  intimation  was  favorably  and  promptly  acted  upon 
by  the  Chinese  government,  as  within  two  days  Minis- 
ter Denby  was  authorized  to  transmit  direct  to  Japan 
overtures  for  peace.  This  step  led  to  the  assurance 
from  Japan  that  a peace  commission  appointed  by 
China  would  be  received  in  a friendly  spirit. 

In  December,  1894,  a peace  commission,  consisting 
of  Chang  Yen  Huan,^  former  minister  to  the  United 
States  and  a member  of  the  Tsung-li  Yamen,  and  Shao 
Yu-lien,  a provincial  governor,  was  appointed,  and 

1 Chang’s  residence  in  the  United  States,  where  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem,  convinced  him  that  China’s  great  need  was  reform  in  government 
in  accordance  with  Western  civilization,  and  on  his  return  to  China 
he  became  a leading  member  of  the  liberal  section  in  Chinese  politics. 
He  was  a trusted  adviser  of  the  emperor  in  his  reform  movement  after 
the  Japanese  war,  and  when  the  empress  dowager  virtually  dethroned 
the  emperor  and  resumed  the  control  of  the  government,  Chang  was  con- 
demned to  decapitation  on  the  charge  of  malfeasance  in  office  as  an 
adviser  of  the  throne.  The  American  and  British  ministers  inter- 
vened to  save  his  life,  and  his  punishment  was  commuted  to  perpetual 
banishment  at  hard  labor  in  distant  Mongolia.  When  the  reaction- 
ary party  was  in  the  ascendancy  in  1900,  and  the  foreign  legations  be- 
sieged, the  empress  dowager  caused  him  to  be  beheaded.  His  death  was 
a great  loss  to  China,  as  he  was  a liberal  and  enlightened  statesman  and 
could  have  rendered  his  country  valuable  service  in  the  trying  period 
following  the  “ Boxer  ” movement.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  American 
government,  Chang  has  recently  been  posthumously  restored  to  his  honors 
and  the  disgrace  attaching  to  his  execution  removed  from  his  family. 


340 


AIMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


reached  Hiroshima,  Japan,  the  place  designated  for  the 
conference,  in  January,  1895.  After  meeting  with  the 
Japanese  commissioners  it  was  decided  by  the  latter 
that  the  Chinese  credentials  were  not  in  proper  form, 
the  conferences  were  closed,  and  the  Chinese  commis- 
sioners sent  out  of  the  country.  The  objection  to  the 
credentials  was  purely  technical,  and  the  Chinese  com- 
missioners offered  to  have  the  defect  corrected  by  tele- 
graph to  suit  the  views  of  the  Japanese,  but  the  offer 
was  rejected.  The  true  cause  for  the  failure  of  these 
negotiations  is  most  probably  found  in  the  fact  that  a 
formidable  expedition  was  then  ready  to  sail  for  the  re- 
duction of  the  fortress  of  Wei-hai-wei  and  the  capture 
of  the  Chinese  navy,  and  the  Japanese  did  not  choose 
to  settle  upon  the  terms  of  peace  till  this  important 
expedition  had  accomplished  its  purpose. 

After  the  capture  of  Wei-hai-wei,  Japan  let  it  be 
understood  through  the  American  legation  that  it 
would  receive  Li  Hung  Chang,  who  had  been  nomi- 
nated peace  commissioner,  and  on  March  19  he  landed 
at  Shimonoseki,  Japan,  with  a numerous  suite.  He 
was  here  met  by  Marquis  Ito,  prime  minister,  and 
Count  Mutsu,  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  and  after 
negotiations  continuing  through  four  weeks,  terms  of 
peace  were  agreed  upon  and  a treaty  signed.  Its  lead- 
ing features  were  the  recognition  of  the  complete  inde- 
pendence of  Korea  and  the  abandonment  of  all  tribute 
and  vassal  ceremonies  to  China,  the  cession  of  the  Liao- 
tung Peninsula,  Formosa,  and  the  Pescadores  Islands 
to  Japan,  the  payment  of  a war  indemnity  of  two 
hundred  million  taels,  the  opening  of  four  new  ports 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


341 


by  China,  and  the  granting  of  other  commercial  privi- 
leges. 

Soon  after  the  war  closed  the  emperor  of  Japan  sent 
an  autograph  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  which  he  expressed  his  cordial  thanks  for  the 
friendly  offices  extended  to  his  subjects  in  China  by 
which  they  were  on  many  occasions  afforded  succor 
and  relief,  and  for  the  services  of  the  representatives  of 
the  United  States  in  Tokio  and  Peking  whereby  the 
preliminaries  looking  to  the  opening  of  negotiations 
and  the  definite  termination  of  hostilities  were  adjusted. 
These  acts,  his  majesty  said,  tended  greatly  to  mitigate 
the  severities  and  hardships  of  war,  were  deeply  appre- 
ciated by  him,  and  would  tend  to  draw  still  closer  the 
bonds  of  friendship  which  happily  unite  the  two  coun- 
tries.^ 

In  addition  to  the  friendly  service  which  the  United 
States  was  able  to  render  both  Japan  and  China  during 
the  war  in  bringing  the  conflict  to  a close,  the  emperor 
of  China  invited  a citizen  of  the  United  States  to  assist 
his  commissioners  in  the  peace  negotiations,  and  the 
Japanese  commissioners  likewise  had  the  benefit  of  an 
American  adviser  in  their  important  labors. 

It  would  trespass  upon  the  bounds  marked  out  for 

1 As  to  peace  negotiations,  U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  i.  pp.  29- 
106  ; 1895,  p.  969  ; History  of  the  peace  negotiations  between  China  and 
Japan,  officially  revised,  Tientsin,  1895  ; Williams’s  China,  459  ; “ Vladi- 
mir’s” China-Japan  War,  pt.  iii.  chaps,  vii.  and  ix..  Appendix  I-K  ; 
Heroic  Japan,  chap,  xxxiii.  and  Appendix  A.  For  events  of  the  war, 
U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  i.  44^104;  Williams’s  China,  444-459  ; 
“ Vladimir  ” (cited),  pts.  ii.  and  iii.  Appendix  D,  F-H  ; Heroic  Japan  ; 
J.  Inouye’s  Hist.  For  results  of  the  war,  China,  Travels  in  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  by  Gen.  J.  H.  Wilson,  U.  S.  A.,  New  York,  1901,  chap.  xx. 


342 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


this  volume  to  enter  at  length  upon  a consideration  of 
the  results  of  the  war.  It  will  be  sufficient  here  to 
state  that  it  dispelled  the  idea  that  China  might  be 
counted  upon  in  the  near  future  as  a military  power. 
It  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  world  a new  factor 
not  only  in  the  Far  East,  but  in  the  policy  of  the  West- 
ern nations.  Japan  had  demonstrated  not  only  that  its 
people  were  patriotic  and  warlike,  but  that  its  generals 
possessed  a knowledge  of  strategy,  that  it  had  a well- 
equipped  system  of  sea  transportation,  and  an  advanced 
knowledge  of  the  methods  of  supplying  and  moving 
large  armies,  and  that  it  contained  within  itself  the 
financial  resources  to  maintain  a great  and  expensive 
war.^  There  will  be  occasion  in  a later  chapter  to 
chronicle  the  influence  of  this  conflict  in  bringing 
about  the  release  of  Japan  from  the  shackles  with 
which  she  had  been  bound  by  the  Western  nations. 

The  war  swept  away  the  last  vestige  of  the  vassalage 
of  Korea  to  China.  But  in  its  stead  was  substituted  a 
new  danger  to  its  autonomy.  Japan  had  completely 
dominated  the  government  of  that  country  during  the 
hostilities,  and  at  their  termination  was  prepared  to 
reap  the  benefits  of  its  success  in  increased  commercial 
privileges,  and  in  its  control  of  the  administration  of 
the  king.  But  in  the  execution  of  its  plans  it  had  to 

^ The  overwhelming  success  of  the  Japanese  army  in  the  Chinese  war, 
while  unexpected  to  the  world  at  large,  was  not  a surprise  to  well-in- 
formed military  observers.  General  U.  S.  Grant,  after  his  visit  to  China 
and  Japan  in  1879,  expressed  the  opinion  that  “ a well-appointed  body  of 
ten  thousand  Japanese  troops  could  make  their  way  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  China,  against  all  odds  that  could  be  brought  to  confront 
them.”  Atlantic  Monthly,  Dec.  1887,  p.  725. 


KOREA  AND  ITS  NEIGHBORS 


343 


reckon  with  the  designs  of  Kussia.  The  government 
of  that  great  and  expanding  empire,  as  its  first  act  of 
interference,  compelled  Japan  to  surrender  the  best 
fruit  of  the  war  in  the  retrocession  to  China  of  the 
Liao-tung  Peninsula.  And  since  that  date  it  has  been 
a constant  competitor  with  the  island  empire  for  favor 
and  privileges  at  the  court  of  Seoul.  It  may  be  that 
this  competition  in  Korea  will  bring  about  the  next 
conflict  in  the  Pacific,  and  even  menace  the  peace  of 
the  world. 


X 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 

When  the  disorders  of  government  in  Japan  and 
the  anti-foreign  disturbances  which  marked  the  first 
few  years  after  the  opening  of  the  ports  to  inter- 
course with  the  outside  world,  as  already  narrated, 
had  in  great  measure  passed,  the  rulers  of  the  nation 
addressed  themselves  to  the  task  of  adapting  the  coun- 
try to  the  changed  conditions.  New  and  unexpected 
embarrassments,  however,  were  at  once  encountered. 
It  has  been  seen  that  the  Japanese  were  as  artless  as 
children  in  the  practice  of  diplomacy,  and  accepted 
submissively  the  treaties  which  Commodore  Perry  and 
Minister  Harris  prepared,  as  well  as  those  of  the  other 
nations  patterned  after  them.  But  the  statesmen  of 
Japan  were  sagacious  and  highly  patriotic,  and  they 
early  discovered  that  the  nation  had  been  led  into  a 
thralldom,  a release  from  which  would  require  the 
greatest  wisdom,  persistency,  and  forbearance. 

Soon  after  the  treaties  went  into  effect  it  became 
apparent  that  the  government  had  surrendered  two 
of  the  highest  attributes  of  sovereignty  and  independ- 
ence — the  power  to  enforce  its  authority  over  all  the 
people  within  its  territory,  and  the  right  to  frame 
and  alter  its  tariff  or  impost  duties  at  its  pleasure. 
According  to  the  American  treaties  of  1854  and  1858, 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


346 


which  followed  the  Cushing  treaty  of  1844  with  China 
on  the  subject  of  exterritoriality,  Americans  commit- 
ting offenses  in  Japan  were  to  be  tried  by  their  own 
consuls,  and  Japanese  having  claims  against  Americans 
were  required  to  enforce  them  in  the  consular  courts. 
A fixed  tariff  of  duties  was  also  agreed  to  on  imports 
and  exports.  Similar  provisions  were  contained  in  the 
treaties  with  the  other  foreign  powers. 

Soon  after  the  government  of  the  Mikado  was  well 
established  at  Tokio  efforts  were  made  to  obtain  an 
abolition  or  a modification  of  these  stipulations  through 
the  resident  foreign  ministers.  These  proved  ineffec- 
tual, and  inasmuch  as  the  year  1872  was  fixed  in  the 
treaties  as  the  date  when  their  revision  might  be  con- 
sidered, it  was  determined  to  dispatch  an  embassy  to 
the  capitals  of  all  the  interested  powers  for  the  purpose 
of  securing,  by  means  of  such  revision,  a release  from 
the  humiliating  and  burdensome  conditions  which  so 
greatly  embarrassed  the  government. 

In  1871  the  embassy  was  constituted.  At  its  head 
was  placed  Prince  Iwakura,  junior  prime  minister  and 
minister  for  foreign  affairs.  With  him  were  associated 
as  vice-ambassadors,  Kido,  Okuba,  Ito,  and  Yamagutsi, 
men  who  had  already  attained  high  positions  in  the  gov- 
ernment, and  whose  talents  made  them  leaders  of  the 
New  Japan.  While  the  special  object  of  the  embassy 
was  to  obtain  a revision  of  the  treaties,  it  had  also  in 
view  a study  of  the  institutions  of  the  Western  nations, 
and  to  this  end  commissioners  fitted  for  the  task  were 
selected  from  the  various  departments  of  government. 

The  embassy,  which  sailed  from  Yokohama  the  last 


346  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

of  December,  consisted  of  forty-nine  officials,  with 
interpreters  and  servants  making  in  all  over  one  hun- 
dred persons.  They  were  accompanied  to  the  United 
States  by  the  American  minister,  Mr.  De  Long,  and 
his  secretary^  and  the  Japanese  consul  at  San  Fran- 
cisco, an  American  citizen,  was  made  a member  of  the 
embassy  and  continued  with  it  through  Europe.  It 
arrived  in  San  Francisco,  January  15,  1872,  where  it 
was  received  with  the  greatest  attention  by  the  public 
officials  and  citizens.  In  the  receptions  and  festivities. 
Vice- Ambassador  Ito,  who  had  been  abroad  and  was 
familiar  with  the  English  language,  was  the  chief 
speaker.  The  spirit  which  animated  this  distinguished 
body  of  statesmen  may  be  seen  from  the  following 
extracts  from  his  speeches. 

At  a banquet  given  by  the  citizens  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, in  the  course  of  his  remarks,  he  said;  Japan  is 
anxious  to  press  forward.  The  red  disk  in  the  centre 
of  our  flag  shall  no  longer  appear  like  a wafer  over  a 
sealed  empire,  but  henceforth  be  in  fact  what  it  is 
designed  to  be,  the  noble  emblem  of  the  rising  sun, 
moving  onward  and  upward  amid  the  enlightened  na- 
tions of  the  world.”  And  at  Sacramento  : We  come 

to  study  your  strength,  that,  by  adopting  wisely  your 
better  ways,  we  may  hereafter  be  stronger  ourselves. 
. . . Notwithstanding  the  various  customs,  manners, 
and  institutions  of  the  different  nations,  we  are  all 
members  of  one  large  human  family,  and  under  control 
of  the  same  Almighty  Being,  and  we  believe  it  is  our 
common  destiny  to  reach  a nobler  civilization  than  the 
world  has  yet  seen.” 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


347 


By  a unanimous  vote  of  Congress  the  embassy  was 
declared  the  guests  of  the  United  States  and  an  appro- 
priation for  its  entertainment  was  made.  On  its  arrival 
in  Washington  it  was  received  at  the  executive  mansion 
by  President  Grant,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  heads  of 
departments  and  bureaus  and  a numerous  company  of 
prominent  citizens.  An  official  reception  was  tendered 
by  Congress  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, with  eloquent  addresses  by  the  Speaker,  Mr. 
Blaine,  and  Prince  Iwakura.  Public  and  private  cour- 
tesies were  likewise  shown  them  in  the  other  cities 
which  they  visited  before  their  departure  for  Europe. 

The  ambassadors  had  several  conferences  with  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Fish,  on  the  subject  of  the  revi- 
sion of  the  treaties,  and  received  from  him  the  assurance 
that  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  prepared 
to  take  up  the  subject  in  the  most  liberal  spirit  towards 
Japan.  But  it  was  found  that  the  Japanese  represent- 
atives were  not  clothed  with  power  to  sign  a treaty, 
and  definite  action  was  postponed  till  the  embassy  had 
conferred  with  the  European  treaty  powers. 

During  their  stay  in  the  United  States  the  ambassa- 
dors and  commissioners  were  busy  in  studying  its  insti- 
tutions and  customs,  and  their  reports  thereon  constitute 
a large  volume  in  the  pubhcations  of  the  embassy. 
Prince  Iwakura,  who  had  been  the  main  support  of  the 
imperial  cause  during  the  struggle  which  resulted  in  the 
reinstallment  of  the  emperor,  was  a devoted  monarchist, 
and  found  little  in  the  American  democratic  system  to 
pattern  after  ; but  he  was  much  impressed  with  the 
strength  of  the  central  government.  The  reports  give 


348  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

special  attention  to  the  social  aspects,  the  genial  dispo- 
sition of  the  people,  their  cosmopolitan  character,  the 
influence  which  religion  exerts  in  society  and  govern- 
ment, the  educational  system,  the  respect  paid  to  women, 
the  growth  of  the  cities,  and  European  immigration. 

The  visit  of  the  embassy  to  the  European  capitals  was 
fruitless  of  results  so  far  as  its  main  object  was  con- 
cerned. It  found  the  governments  unwilling  to  give 
Japan  jurisdiction  over  their  subjects  until  it  had  re- 
formed its  system  of  jurisprudence,  and  they  did  not 
choose  to  give  up  the  hold  which  they  had  acquired  on 
the  regulation  of  foreign  trade.  From  the  United  States 
alone  had  the  embassy  received  any  well-grounded  hope 
of  release  5 and  on  his  return  to  Japan  the  chief  ambas- 
sador expressed  to  the  American  minister  in  a heartfelt 
manner  his  deep  sense  of  obligation  to  the  government 
for  its  reception  and  treatment. 

Prince  Iwakura  was  a noted  character  in  Japanese 
history.  He  is  held  in  esteem  by  Americans  because 
of  his  high  appreciation  of  the  friendship  of  their  coun- 
try for  his  nation,  and  for  the  partiality  shown  by  him 
to  the  United  States  in  educating  three  of  his  sons  in 
its  institutions.  Minister  Bingham  ranked  him  as  one 
of  the  ablest  of  his  majesty’s  ministers,  and  one  of  the 
foremost  intellectually  and  morally  of  his  countrymen. 
On  his  death  in  1883,  the  emperor  issued  a rescript  in 
which  he  bore  this  testimony : He  was  the  pillar  of 

the  nation,  and  a model  for  my  subjects.  I ascended 
the  throne  in  my  youth.  The  deceased  was  my  teacher. 
Heaven  has  deprived  me  of  his  aid.  How  grieved  am 
I ! In  honor  of  his  memory  I confer  on  him  the  post- 
humous title  of  first  minister  of  state.” 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


349 


With  the  failure  of  the  embassy  nothing  was  left  for 
the  rulers  of  Japan  but,  first,  to  bring  their  country 
up  to  the  standard  of  administration  fixed  by  the  Euro- 
pean powers  before  they  would  relinquish  the  practice 
of  exterritoriality ; and  second,  to  make  the  power  of 
the  country  so  great  as  to  command  the  respect  of  the 
Western  nations,  and  thereby  secure  a recognition  of 
the  right  to  regulate  its  own  system  of  taxation. 

This  course  had  been  already  marked  out  by  the  em- 
peror. In  a banquet  which  he  gave  his  nobles  just 
before  the  departure  of  the  embassy  in  1871,  he  fore- 
shadowed his  policy  for  the  reorganization  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  appealed  to  them  to  lead  and  encourage 
the  people  to  move  forward  in  paths  of  progress.  . . . 
With  diligent  and  united  efforts  we  may  attain  succes- 
sively the  highest  degree  of  civilization  within  our 
reach,  and  shall  experience  no  serious  difficulty  in 
maintaining  power,  independence,  and  respect  among 
nations.”  ^ 

To  attain  this  highest  degree  of  civilization,”  mea- 
sures were  instituted  to  reform  the  system  of  juris- 
prudence and  education  in  conformity  with  Western 
methods,  and  to  reorganize  the  departments  especially 
of  finance,  military  affairs,  and  internal  improvements. 
To  this  end  Japanese  of  intelligence  and  capacity  were 
sent  abroad  to  study  the  systems  of  other  countries,  and 
foreigners  were  called  to  Japan  to  instruct  and  take 
direction  in  the  reforms  to  be  established. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  this  work  it  was  natural, 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1871,  p.  597  ; 1874,  p.  646  ; 1883,  p.  607  ; The  Japa- 
nese in  America,  by  C.  Lanman,  New  York,  1872,  pt.  i. ; Nitobe,  162. 


350  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

in  view  of  their  past  relations,  that  Japan  should  look 
largely  to  the  United  States.  It  is  not  possible  here  to 
give  in  detail  the  distinguished  part  borne  by  American 
citizens  in  the  reformation  of  the  government  and  peo- 
ple. Americans  were  early  employed  as  confidential 
advisers  in  the  foreign  office  to  aid  in  the  direction  of 
diplomatic  affairs,  and  they  have  been  continuously 
retained  up  to  the  present  time.  In  the  development 
of  education  they  have  taken  a leading  part.  At  the 
request  of  Japan  officials  were  detailed  from  the  United 
States  Treasury  Department  to  remodel  its  financial  sys- 
tem. Its  agricultural  bureau,  and  largely  its  scientific 
institutions,  were  organized  under  American  direction. 
The  present  excellent  postal  establishment  was  initiated 
by  an  American,  and  the  first  postal  convention  with 
Japan  was  made  by  the  United  States.^ 

In  connection  with  the  influence  which  American 
citizens  exerted  in  remoulding  Japan  may  be  noted  the 
visit  to  that  country  of  General  U.  S.  Grant  in  1879, 
on  his  tour  of  the  world.  He  was  made  the  guest  of 
the  nation  (the  first  instance  of  the  kind  under  the 
reorganized  government),  was  lodged  in  an  imperial 
palace,  and,  besides  the  usual  audience,  he  held  with 
the  emperor  (at  the  latter’s  special  request)  an  interview 
of  two  hours  and  several  others  with  the  prime  minister, 
in  which  the  interests  of  Japan  were  fully  and  freely 
discussed.  At  the  time  of  his  visit  China  and  Japan 
were  in  serious  dispute  over  the  sovereignty  of  the  Lew 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1871,  p.  595,  614  ; 1875,  p.  795  ; 1876,  p.  360 ; Nito- 
be’s  Intercourse  of  U.  S.  and  Japan,  117-139  ; Advance  Japan,  by  J. 
Morris,  London,  1895,  p.  378. 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN  351 

Chew  Islands,  — which,  it  will  be  remembered.  Commo- 
dore Perry  in  1854  had  recommended  should  be  occu- 
pied by  the  United  States.  There  was  great  danger  of 
hostilities  between  the  two  oriental  empires  over  the 
question,  and  General  Grant  actively  interested  himself 
in  preserving  peace.  Both  nations  cherish  his  visit  with 
grateful  remembrance.^ 

The  task  of  regeneration  to  which  the  emperor  of 
Japan  had  summoned  his  people  was  pushed  forward 
with  commendable  zeal.  He  promptly  set  the  example 
by  inviting  the  diplomatic  corps  in  1872  to  a New 
Year’s  audience,  as  in  Western  courts,  with  the  absence 
of  all  Asiatic  ceremonials;  and  a few  years  later  the 
empress  stood  beside  him  in  these  audiences,  which 
Minister  Bingham  noted  as  an  evidence  of  the  ad- 
vancing civilization  of  the  empire.”  In  1875  an  impe- 
rial decree  was  issued  convoking  provincial  assemblies, 
in  order,  as  it  stated,  that  the  emperor  might  govern 
in  harmony  with  public  opinion.”  In  the  same  year 
the  British  and  French  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
Yokohama,  where  they  had  been  stationed  since  the 
opening  of  that  port,  on  the  ground  of  protecting  for- 
eign residents,  — the  first  manifestation  of  a disposition 
on  the  part  of  the  European  powers  to  respect  the  sov- 
ereignty of  Japan.  Edicts  followed  in  quick  succession 
adopting  the  European  calendar,  proclaiming  Sunday 
as  a day  of  rest,  enacting  and  putting  in  force  penal 
and  other  codes,  for  the  compilation  of  a constitution 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1879,  pp.  636, 643,  685  ; 1881,  p.  231  ; 2 Around  the 
World  with  General  Grant,  by  J.  R.  Young,  New  York,  1879,  pp.  410, 545, 
581 ; Nitobe’s  Intercourse,  etc.  140, 


352 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


after  Western  models,  and  announcing  the  convocation 
of  a national  parliament.  Meanwhile  a compulsory 
system  of  education  had  gone  into  operation,  and  the 
intelligence  of  the  people  was  being  quickened  by  the 
multiplication  of  daily  newspapers,  a network  of  tele- 
graph lines,  and  the  opening  of  railroads.^ 

With  all  these  and  other  reforms  in  process  of  con- 
summation, and  chafing  under  the  humiliation  of  the 
exercise  of  sovereignty  on  its  own  soil  by  foreign  na- 
tions, the  government  of  Japan,  in  1878,  approached 
the  diplomatic  representatives  of  powers  in  Tokio  with 
a proposition  for  a revision  of  the  treaties.  The  dis- 
cussion which  followed  developed  the  fact  that  no  time 
was  fixed  in  these  conventions  for  their  termination, 
and  that  if  revision  could  not  be  agreed  upon  they 
would  run  indefinitely. 

Mr.  Harris,  who  negotiated  the  American  treaty  of 
1858,  and  which  became  the  model  for  all  others,  had 
inserted  the  exterritorial  provision  ‘^against  his  con- 
science.” He  states  that  he  did  it  under  the  instruc- 
tions of  Secretary  Marcy,  who  agreed  with  him  that  it 
was  an  unjust  provision,  but  he  said  that,  as  it  appeared 
in  the  treaties  of  the  United  States  with  other  oriental 
countries,  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  treaty  without  it.  Mr.  Harris  regarded  it 
only  as  a temporary  measure. 

The  provisions  as  to  the  tariff  had  even  a less  claim 
for  their  continued  existence.  Mr.  Harris  states  that 
the  Japanese  negotiators  left  that  matter  entirely  to 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1872,  p.  321 ; 1875,  pp.  787,  794  ; 1876,  pp.  377,381 ; 
1878,  p.  486;  1880,  p.  690  ; 1881,  pp.  658,  728. 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


353 


him,  frankly  avowing  their  want  of  knowledge  respect- 
ing it,  and  trusted  to  his  acting  justly.  He  framed 
such  a tariff  as  he  regarded  best  for  the  interests  of 
Japan,  placing  raw  products,  food  supplies,  and  building 
materials  on  the  free  list  or  at  a duty  of  five  per  cent., 
manufactures,  etc.,  at  a duty  of  twenty  per  cent.,  and 
liquors  at  thirty-five  per  cent.  He  intended  to  give 
Japan  the  power  of  revising  the  duty  at  the  end  of  ten 
years,  but  the  construction  placed  by  the  powers  upon 
the  language  used  by  him  made  the  concurrence  of  all 
the  nations  necessary  to  any  change. 

Lord  Elgin,  who  negotiated  the  British  treaty  a short 
time  after  that  of  the  United  States,  succeeded  in  hav- 
ing placed  in  the  five  per  cent,  column  manufactures  of 
wool  and  cotton,  the  articles  most  largely  exported  to 
the  East  by  British  merchants.  Under  the  most  favored 
nation  practice  all  countries  shared  in  the  rate,  and  it 
had  the  effect,  when  the  tariff  revision  of  1866  took 
place,  of  a reduction  of  all  imports  to  a five  per  cent, 
duty. 

This  tariff  proved  disastrous  to  Japan.  It  destroyed 
the  cultivation  of  cotton  and  in  great  measure  the  small 
manufactories,  throwing  many  thousands  of  laborers 
out  of  employment.  It  deprived  the  government  of  all 
revenue  from  this  important  source,  the  duties  collected 
barely  paying  the  cost  of  maintaining  the  customs  ser- 
vice, and  amounting  to  less  than  one  thirtieth  of  its 
income,  while  in  the  United  States  and  many  other 
countries  the  customs  receipts  equal  or  exceed  one  half 
of  the  national  revenues.  But  the  most  serious  objec- 
tion to  its  maintenance  was  the  humiliation  it  caused 


354  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

the  proud  Japanese.  It  was  forced  upon  them  in  1866, 
when  the  country  was  in  the  throes  of  a revolution, 
when  the  government  of  the  Shogun  was  fading  to 
pieces,  and  the  emperor  was  not  yet  able  to  maintain 
his  sovereignty. 

The  enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  the  treaties  as 
to  exterritorial  jurisdiction  was  equally  as  objection- 
able to  the  Japanese.  Not  only  were  foreigners  tried 
by  their  own  consuls  for  offenses  committed  against 
Japan  and  its  people,  but  the  natives  were  required  to 
prosecute  their  suits  against  foreigners  in  the  consular 
courts  of  the  defendants.  It  was  humiliating  enough 
even  when  the  consuls  had  a legal  education  and  were 
competent  to  administer  justice,  but  often  the  persons 
who  held  these  positions  were  ignorant  of  law  and 
utterly  unfitted  for  judicial  duties.  In  the  latter  case 
the  consular  judges  were  in  marked  contrast  to  the 
Japanese  judges,  who  were  trained  in  their  profession 
and  independent  of  executive  control. 

Even  when  the  consuls  were  qualified  in  other  re- 
spects for  their  duties,  it  was  not  always  easy  to  divest 
themselves  of  partiality  for  their  own  countrymen,  and 
this  influence  sometimes  led  to  remarkable  decisions. 
An  example  was  that  of  an  English  merchant  detected 
in  trying  to  smuggle  a large  quantity  of  opium  (a  pro- 
hibited article)  through  the  custom  house,  who  was 
brought  by  the  Japanese  authorities  before  the  British 
consular  court.  He  was  acquitted  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  medicinal  opium,’’  and  might  be  freely  imported 
by  paying  the  duty  of  five  per  cent,  levied  on  medi- 


cmes. 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


355 


The  exterritorial  principle  was  found  inconvenient  in 
other  respects  than  in  judicial  matters.  When  the  con- 
sulates were  first  established  in  the  treaty  ports  the 
Japanese  government  had  no  postal  system,  and  in  each 
consulate  there  was  a post-office  for  the  convenience  of 
resident  foreigners,  through  which  foreign  mail  matter 
passed.  When  the  excellent  postal  service  organized 
by  the  Japanese  government  was  in  full  operation,  it 
requested  that  the  consular  post-offices  might  be  closed 
and  the  government  service  substituted.  The  American 
consulates  were  the  only  ones  which  promptly  acted  on 
the  suggestion,  the  others  claiming  for  several  years 
afterwards  the  right  to  maintain  a separate  service  in 
Japanese  territory. 

A still  more  aggravating  application  of  exterritorial- 
ity was  made  respecting  quarantine  matters.  During  a 
cholera  epidemic  in  1879  the  government  established 
health  regulations  at  the  ports,  which  the  British,  Ger- 
man, and  some  other  ministers  refused  to  recognize, 
and  they  claimed  the  right  to  enact  regulations  in  the 
ports  for  their  own  vessels.  A German  ship,  coming 
directly  from  an  infected  port,  was  placed  in  quarantine 
outside  of  Yokohama,  but  under  the  orders  of  the  Ger- 
man minister  the  vessel  was  taken  out  of  quarantine  by 
the  consul,  attended  by  a German  man-of-war,  and 
brought  into  port.  General  Grant,  who  was  visiting  in 
Japan  at  the  time,  was  emphatic  in  his  denunciation  of 
the  European  diplomats,  and  said  the  government  would 
have  been  justified  in  sinking  the  German  ship.  The 
British  minister  gave  instructions  to  the  consuls  of  his 
nation  to  disregard  entirely  the  regulations.  On  the 


356 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


other  hand,  the  American  minister  required  all  the  ves- 
sels of  his  nationality  to  observe  the  quarantine.  Over 
one  hundred  thousand  Japanese  lost  their  lives  by  the 
epidemic.  The  American  minister,  in  forwarding  the 
statistics  to  his  government,  expressed  the  conviction 
that  the  death  roll  would  not  have  been  so  great  if  the 
Japanese  government  had  been  aided,  and  not  resisted, 
by  certain  of  the  foreign  powers  in  its  laudable  efforts 
to  prevent  the  spread  of  the  pestilence. 

The  minister  for  foreign  affairs  urged  the  application 
for  a revision  of  the  treaties  on  the  representatives  of 
the  Western  nations,  under  the  conviction  that  with  the 
governmental  and  social  reforms  so  well  advanced,  and 
with  the  objectionable  features  of  exterritoriality  so 
manifest,  some  relief  would  be  granted  from  the  em- 
barrassments which  attended  the  continued  enforcement 
of  the  treaties.  But  his  arguments  and  appeals  were 
unsuccessful.  The  British  minister  took  the  lead  in 
the  opposition  to  revision  and  the  other  European  re- 
presentatives concurred  with  him.  At  that  period  the 
influence  of  Great  Britain  was  all-powerful  in  the  East. 
Twice  had  its  naval  and  military  forces  been  used  to 
extort  from  China  unwilling  treaties ; twice  had  Japan 
been  humiliated  by  demonstrations  of  its  martial  power ; 
and  its  squadrons  were  everywhere  present  to  support 
its  ministers  and  consuls. 

In  commercial  affairs  as  well  were  British  interests 
predominant.  In  Japan  the  import  trade  was  largely 
English,  and  British  merchants  were  the  greatest  bene- 
ficiaries of  the  low  duties.  It  did  not  suit  their  inter- 
ests to  abandon  the  practice  of  exterritoriality  or  to 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


357 


change  the  tariff.  Under  these  conditions  the  negotia- 
tions came  to  naught,  as  the  American  minister  was  the 
only  one  of  the  foreign  representatives  willing  to  accept 
the  proposals  of  the  Japanese  government. 

Up  to  this  time  it  had  been  the  policy  and  the  prac- 
tice of  the  foreign  representatives  in  Tokio  to  cooperate 
in  all  measures  of  general  interest,  but  Mr.  Bingham, 
the  American  minister,  was  so  strongly  impressed  with 
the  equity  and  justice  of  the  Japanese  claim  that  he 
dissented  from  his  European  colleagues,  and  decided  to 
take  an  independent  course.  Upon  his  recommenda- 
tion the  United  States,  in  1878,  entered  into  a treaty 
with  Japan  by  which  the  existing  tariff  was  to  be  an- 
nulled and  the  exclusive  right  of  Japan  to  establish 
imports  was  recognized.  This  treaty,  however,  had  no 
other  effect  than  to  place  the  United  States  on  the  side 
of  Japan  in  its  efforts  to  break  the  bands  which  held  it 
in  bondage,  as  its  provisions  were  not  to  go  into  effect 
until  similar  treaties  were  made  with  the  other  powers.^ 

Not  discouraged  by  this  failure  of  1878,  new  pro- 
posals were  submitted  in  1882,  but  without  avail,  the 
American  minister  being  the  only  one  ready  to  concede 
the  Japanese  claim.  Again  in  1886  a more  formal 
effort  was  made  and  a diplomatic  conference  or  con- 
gress was  assembled,  in  which  the  Japanese  minister 
for  foreign  affairs.  Count  Inouye,  and  the  representa- 
tives of  all  the  treaty  powers  participated.  Some  pro- 
gress was  made  towards  an  agreement  on  tariff  revision, 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1879,  pp.  647,  670 ; 1880,  pp.  652,  657,  679 ; U.  S. 
Treaties,  621  ; N.  A Rev.  Dec.  1878,  p.  406  ; Atlantic  Monthly,  May, 
1881,  p.  610;  Ib.  Dec.  1887,  p.  721 ; Nitobe’s  Intercourse,  etc.  104. 


358 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


but  there  was  an  irreconcilable  divergence  of  views  on 
the  jurisdictional  question.  After  long  discussions,  the 
conferences  extending  into  the  year  1887,  the  Japanese 
were  finally  brought  to  agree  that  to  the  native  judges 
there  should  be  added  a body  of  European  and  Ameri- 
can experts,  who  should  constitute  a majority  in  every 
court  before  which  aliens  might  be  required  to  appear. 
But  when  this  important  concession  was  offered,  the 
European  representatives  insisted  that  the  foreign 
judges  should  be  nominated  by  the  diplomatic  body, 
and  that  it  should  control  the  laws,  rules  of  procedure, 
and  the  details  of  the  administration  of  justice. 

When  the  concession  tendered  by  Count  Inouye  and 
the  demands  of  the  diplomatic  representatives  became 
known  to  the  Japanese  public,  a storm  of  indignation 
spread  through  the  land,  and  the  opposition  became 
so  threatening  that  the  conference  was  dissolved,  and 
Count  Inouye  was  forced  to  resign  his  portfolio.  Again 
the  American  minister  alone  was  on  the  side  of  Japan. 
To  signalize  the  attitude  of  his  government,  an  extradi- 
tion convention  was  negotiated  by  Minister  Hubbard, 
ratified,  and  proclaimed  in  1886,  w^hile  the  conference 
was  in  progress.  In  submitting  the  treaty  to  the 
Senate,  President  Cleveland  stated  that  it  had  been 
made  not  only  because  it  was  necessary  for  the  proper 
execution  of  the  criminal  laws,  but  also  because  of 
the  support  which  its  conclusion  would  give  to  Japan 
in  her  efforts  towards  judicial  autonomy  and  complete 
sovereignty.” 

This  treaty  originated  in  questions  which  were  raised 
through  an  American,  charged  with  a crime  committed 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


359 


in  the  United  States,  taking  refuge  in  Japan.  His 
arrest  could  not  be  demanded  in  the  absence  of  an 
extradition  treaty,  but  the  Japanese  government  as  an 
act  of  comity  caused  his  delivery  for  trial  in  the  United 
States,  and  in  friendly  reciprocity  the  convention  was 
signed.  The  British  government,  on  the  other  hand, 
claimed  that,  under  the  principle  of  exterritoriality,  it 
had  the  right  without  such  a convention  to  follow  a 
British  fugitive  from  justice  into  any  part  of  Japanese 
territory,  arrest,  and  carry  him  back  to  England  for 
trial.  Such  a claim  was  only  equaled  by  the  disregard 
of  the  government  quarantine  regulations  in  the  treaty 
ports. 

Count  Inouye’s  conferences  having  been  broken  up 
because  of  the  indignation  of  the  Japanese  people. 
Count  Okuma,  his  successor  in  the  foreign  office, 
sought  to  take  advantage  of  a difference  of  views  exist- 
ing among  the  European  representatives,  and  to  revise 
the  treaties  with  each  nation  separately.  He  reached  a 
basis  of  agreement  with  Germany,  France,  and  Russia, 
but  Great  Britain  still  held  out,  and,  while  laboring  to 
secure  an  adjustment  with  that  power,  an  attempt  on 
his  life  was  made  by  a fanatic,  who  had  been  wrought 
up  by  an  excessive  patriotic  fervor  to  believe  the  minis- 
ter was  about  to  betray  his  country.  Being  severely 
wounded,  Okuma  likewise  abandoned  his  efforts  and 
gave  up  his  office.  The  attitude  of  the  European 
powers  had  created  a conservative  reaction,  and  the 
public  sentiment  was  such  at  the  time  that  an  unwill- 
ingness was  manifested  to  allow  the  country  to  be 
thrown  open  to  foreigners,  even  in  exchange  for  the 


360 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


abolition  of  the  judicial  and  tariff  provisions  of  the 
treaty.  Disheartened  in  its  labors,  the  government 
decided  to  abandon  further  attempts  at  treaty  revision, 
in  the  hope  that  time  would  work  out  the  deliverance 
of  the  nation.^ 

But  it  did  not  slacken  the  movement  for  reform,  and 
on  the  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-ninth  anni- 
versary of  the  foundation  of  the  dynasty  there  occurred 
the  most  momentous  event  in  Japanese  history  and  the 
crowning  work  in  the  regeneration  of  the  country  — 
the  promulgation  by  the  emperor  of  the  imperial  con- 
stitution, accompanied  by  his  solemn  oath  to  observe 
and  enforce  it,  and  also  by  a decree  for  the  election  of 
an  imperial  diet  or  parliament.  The  promulgation  was 
made  by  the  emperor  in  the  throne-room  of  the  palace 
with  stately  ceremonies,  and  was  witnessed  by  the  dip- 
lomatic representatives  who  had  so  recently  refused  to 
recognize  the  advance  which  the  empire  had  made  in 
governmental  and  social  reorganization,  and  who  were 
still  unwilling  to  admit  it  into  the  family  of  nations.^ 

The  patience  and  forbearance  of  Japanese  statesman- 
ship, however,  at  last  had  its  reward  in  a notable 
triumph  over  W estern  diplomacy.  The  war  with  China 
had  thrown  a fresh  li^ht  on  oriental  affairs.  A new 
people  had  appeared  above  the  horizon  of  international 
politics,  not  only  able  to  defend  their  independence, 

1 The  United  States  in  the  Far  East,  by  R.  B.  Hubbard,  Richmond, 
1900,  chap.  xvi.  ; Norman’s  Far  East,  385  ; Chamberlain’s  Things  Japa- 
nese, 443  Atlantic  Monthly,  1887,  pp.  728-733  ; Nitobe’s  Intercourse, 
etc.  105  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1886,  p.  664  ; 8 Presidents’  Messages,  402,  501. 

2 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1889,  p.  536  ; Murray’s  Story  of  Japan,  394  ; Minhter 
Kurimo  in  N.  A.  Rev.  May,  1895,  p.  624. 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


361 


but  to  make  their  power  felt  in  the  counsels  and  con- 
tests of  the  nations.  Russia,  Germany,  and  France  had 
combined  to  rescue  China  from  Japanese  control,  and 
Great  Britain,  separated  from  the  great  continental 
powers,  found  in  Japan  a convenient  and  useful  ally. 
The  British  government  was  not  slow  to  realize  the 
situation.  Even  before  the  war  had  fairly  begun  and 
when  the  triple  alliance  in  Asiatic  affairs  was  still  in- 
choate, it  had  taken  the  step  which  was  essential  to  an 
alliance  with  the  Japanese  empire. 

The  highest  ambition  of  that  empire  was  to  secure 
release  from  the  bondage  in  which  it  was  held  by  the 
treaties  with  the  Western  powers.  No  nation  could  be 
its  friend  and  ally  which  was  not  ready  to  yield  that 
point.  The  British  government  signified  its  readiness 
to  take  up  the  revision,  and,  from  being  the  recalcitrant 
power,  it  became  the  one  most  prompt  to  accept  the 
conditions  proposed  by  Japan.  The  latter,  also,  had 
changed  its  position.  It  no  longer  thought  of  foreign 
judges  in  its  courts,  as  it  proposed  in  1886.  When  it 
declared  war  against  China  and  marshaled  its  army 
and  navy  for  the  contest,  it  was  not  alone  to  settle  its 
differences  with  its  neighbor,  but  to  achieve  its  inde- 
pendence and  sovereignty  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  Great  Britain  recognized  that  Japan  had  at  last 
reached  the  goal  of  its  twenty-two  years’  diplomatic 
struggle,  and  in  1894  entered  into  a treaty  whereby 
the  practice  of  exterritoriality  was  to  be  completely 
abolished,  the  whole  country  was  to  be  opened  to  for- 
eign residents,  and  the  statutory  tariff  of  Japan  was 
to  control  the  imposts,  from  and  after  1899;  and 


362  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

meanwhile  the  foreign  residents  at  the  treaty  ports 
were  to  prepare  for  the  change. 

The  United  States  had  negotiated  such  a treaty  soon 
after  the  adjournment  of  the  revision  conference  of 
1886-87,  and  stood  ready  to  put  it  in  force  as  soon 
as  Great  Britain,  its  commercial  competitor,  could  be 
brought  to  a similar  agreement.  When  the  British 
treaty  was  assured,  the  negotiations  were  taken  up  at 
Washington,  a treaty  was  signed  November  22,  1894, 
and  promptly  ratified  and  proclaimed.  All  the  other 
treaty  powers  followed  with  little  delay,  and  the  day 
was  thus  fixed  for  the  release  of  Japan  from  its  thrall- 
dom. 

The  revision  of  the  treaties  was  not  popular  with  the 
foreign  residents  of  the  empire.  They  looked  forward 
with  foreboding  to  the  application  to  their  persons 
and  business  of  the  Japanese  laws.  The  American  and 
British  residents  especially  were  filled  with  anxiety, 
and  petitioned  their  governments  to  secure  some  ex- 
emption from  the  laws  respecting  land  tenures,  news- 
papers, and  bail  or  imprisonment  in  view  of  the  con- 
ditions of  the  Japanese  jails.  But  their  governments 
decided  that  it  was  but  fair  to  allow  the  Japanese  laws 
to  go  into  operation,  and,  if  hardships  and  injustice 
were  experienced,  to  trust  to  the  imperial  government 
to  remedy  the  defects  through  legislation  or  amend- 
ment of  the  treaties. 

As  the  day  of  jubilee  approached  the  emperor  is- 
sued a notable  rescript  or  proclamation,  announcing 
the  coming  event,  in  which  he  said,  ^^it  is  a source 
of  heartfelt  gratification  to  us  that,  in  the  sequel 


THE  ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  JAPAN 


363 


of  exhaustive  planning  and  repeated  negotiations,  an 
agreement  has  been  come  to  with  the  powers,  and  the 
revision  of  the  treaties,  our  long-cherished  aim,  is 
to-day  on  the  eve  of  becoming  an  accomplished  fact; 
a result  which,  while  it  adds  materially  to  the  responsi- 
bilities of  our  empire,  will  greatly  strengthen  the  basis 
of  our  friendship  with  foreign  countries.’’  And  he 
appealed  in  affectionate  terms  to  his  subjects,  officials, 
and  people,  to  so  conduct  themselves  that  every  source 
of  dissatisfaction  might  be  avoided,  and  that  subjects 
and  strangers  might  enjoy  equal  privileges  and  dwell 
together  in  peace. 

The  rescript  was  followed  by  notifications  from  the 
cabinet  and  ministers  of  all  the  departments  to  their 
subordinates,  warning  them  to  so  enforce  the  laws 
and  so  conduct  themselves  that  foreigners  might  be 
enabled  to  reside  in  the  country  confidently  and  con- 
tentedly.” The  appeal  of  the  emperor  in  that  great 
crisis  of  his  country  was  most  affecting,  and  had  a pro- 
found influence  on  the  masses  of  the  people,  who  had 
been  trained  to  believe  in  his  divine  origin  and  that  he 
was  guided  in  his  conduct  by  his  ancestors  of  glorious 
memory  and  achievements.^ 

It  is  gratifying  to  note  that  the  foreboding  of  the 
foreign  residents  has  not  been  reahzed,  and  that  since 
1899  they  have  lived  in  as  full  an  enjoyment  of  peace 
and  protection  of  the  laws  of  the  empire  as  if  under 
the  governments  of  Christendom.  The  manner  in  which 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1890,  p.  450  ; 1899,  p.  469  ; U.  S.  Treaties  in  force, 
352  ; Norman’s  Far  East,  387  ; Ransome’s  Japan  in  Transition,  chaps, 
xi.  and  xvi.  ; Morris’s  Advance  Japan,  p.  xiv. 


364  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

the  officials  and  people  have  conducted  themselves  has 
secured  the  applause  of  the  world.  What  has  been 
accomplished  is  without  parallel  in  history.  No  other 
Asiatic  country  has  broken  away  from  the  customs  of 
past  ages  and  aligned  itself  with  the  institutions  and 
methods  of  modern  civilization ; and  no  other  nation  of 
the  world  has  in  so  short  a time  undergone  so  great  a 
transformation  and  wrought  such  a development  of  its 
resources. 

It  is  especially  gratifying  to  Americans  to  note  the 
triumphs  of  Japanese  wisdom,  persistency,  and  patriot- 
ism, — to  feel  that  they  were  instrumental  in  awakening 
that  people  to  the  high  ideal  which  they  fixed  for 
themselves,  and  that  they  have  stood  by  them  as  their 
adviser  and  friend  in  their  long  struggle  for  regenera- 
tion and  independence. 

The  empire  has  attained  its  long-sought-for  place 
among  the  nations.  It  begins  to  realize,  as  announced 
by  the  emperor,  that  it  has  materially  enlarged  its  re- 
sponsibihties.  It  assumes  them,  proud  of  its  antiquity 
and  confident  of  a long  future  before  it,  inspired  by  the 
sentiment  so  recently  sung  by  its  soldiers  on  the  battle- 
fields of  Korea  and  China,  — 

May  our  Lord’s  dominion  last 
Till  a thousand  years  have  passed, 

Twice  four  thousand  times  o’ertold  ! 

Firm  as  changeless  rock,  earth-rooted, 

Moss  of  ages  uncorrupted 

Grows  upon  it,  green  and  old  ! 


XI 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 

The  decade  following  1850  was  significant  in  events 
which  unmistakably  indicated  the  ultimate  annexation 
of  Hawaii  to  the  United  States.  The  sudden  develop- 
ment of  California  and  the  growth  of  American  influ- 
ence on  the  Pacific  coast  greatly  revived  the  drooping 
commerce  of  the  islands  occasioned  by  the  decline  in 
whalinof.  The  demand  from  that  coast  created  new 
industries,  especially  in  agriculture.  The  cultivation  of 
sugar  was  begun,  and  was  found  to  be  well  adapted  to 
the  climate  and  soil.  Potatoes  and  other  vesretables 

O 

were  largely  exported,  and  the  high  price  of  flour  at 
San  Francisco  gave  a temporary  impetus  to  the  growing 
of  wheat.  The  traffic  in  these  commodities  added  ma- 
terially to  the  wealth  of  the  islanders. 

Another  event  tended  to  direct  attention  to  the  politi- 
cal future  of  Hawaii.  It  was  the  epoch  when  filibuster- 
ing was  rampant  in  the  United  States,  and  demanded 
an  aggressive  policy  on  the  part  of  the  administration 
then  in  power.  While  Cuba  was  the  objective  point  of 
the  movement  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  notorious 
Walker  was  active  in  organizing  in  San  Francisco  law- 
less movements  against  Lower  California  and  Nicaragua. 
His  acts  gave  currency  to  reports  that  an  expedition 
was  being  formed  to  occupy  forcibly  Hawaii  and  bring 


366  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

about  its  annexation  to  the  United  States.  Kame- 
hameha  III.  (the  reigning  sovereign)  and  his  council 
were  greatly  alarmed,  and  their  appeals  led  to  the  send- 
ing of  an  American  man-of-war  to  Honolulu  to  insure 
the  islands  from  attack.  The  rumors  proved  to  have 
no  substantial  foundation,  but  they  indicated  the  grow- 
ing expectation  of  eventual  incorporation  of  the  islands 
with  the  Union. 

The  census  made  it  manifest  that  the  native  popu- 
lation was  rapidly  decreasing,  and  the  race  seemed 
destined  to  ultimate  extinction.  Although  surrounded 
by  good  advisers  and  Christian  influence,  the  reigning 
family  wa.s  developing  an  incapacity  to  govern,  and  this 
feature  became  more  apparent  in  later  years.  The  par- 
amount interest  of  the  United  States  caused  it  to  regard 
the  situation  with  concern.^ 

Mr.  Marcy,  the  Secretary  of  State,  although  of  con- 
servative tendencies,  entertained  broad-minded  views  of 
the  duty  and  destiny  of  his  country,  and  he  regarded  the 
time  propitious  for  a permanent  settlement  of  the  status 
of  these  outlying  islands  adjacent  to  the  American 
domain.  The  king  had  already,  during  the  trouble 
with  France,  indicated  his  desire  in  that  crisis  to  trans- 
fer the  sovereignty  to  the  United  States,  and  Mr.  Marcy 
instructed  the  American  minister  to  approach  him  with 
a proposition  for  annexation.  The  king  was  found 
favorable  to  the  project,  and  the  draft  of  a treaty  was 
agreed  upon ; but  two  of  its  provisions  did  not  meet 

^ The  official  census  shows  the  following  decrease  in  the  native  popula- 
tion : Native  Hawaiians  in  1832,  130,313  ; 1850,  84,165  ; 1853,  73,137  ; 
1860,  69,800 ; 1872,  56,869 ; 1884,  40,014 ; 1890,  34,436  ; and  1900, 
29,799. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


367 


with  Mr.  Marcy’s  approval,  to  wit,  the  annuities  to  be 
paid  the  royal  family  and  the  stipulation  that  the 
islands  were  to  constitute  a State  of  the  Union. 

While  the  negotiations  were  in  progress  for  a modifi- 
cation of  the  treaty  draft  on  these  matters,  Kamehameha 
III.  died,  and,  his  successor  being  unfavorable  to  the 
measure,  the  negotiations  came  to  an  end.  But  the  lat- 
ter recognized  the  commercial  dependence  of  the  islands 
upon  the  United  States,  and  a treaty  of  reciprocity  in 
trade  was  signed  in  1855,  though  it  failed  of  approval 
by  the  American  Senate. 

During  the  American  Civil  War  the  government  of 
the  United  States  was  too  much  absorbed  with  that  great 
struggle  to  give  attention  to  its  relations  with  Hawaii. 
Soon  after  the  restoration  of  peace,  however.  Secretary 
Seward  authorized  the  American  minister  to  open  nego- 
tiations for  a reciprocity  treaty,  but  he  stated  that  there 
was  a strong  annexation  feeling  in  the  country,  and  if 
he  found  that  the  policy  of  annexation  should  conflict 
with  the  policy  of  reciprocity,  annexation  is  in  every 
case  to  be  preferred.”  The  treaty  of  reciprocity  was 
signed  in  1867,  and  President  Johnson,  in  urging  its 
ratification  upon  the  Senate,  said  the  treaty  would  prove 
a measure  of  protection  against  foreign  aggression 
until  the  people  of  the  islands  shall,  of  themselves,  at 
no  distant  day,  voluntarily  apply  for  admission  into  the 
Union.”  Two  influences  were,  however,  sufficiently 
strong  to  prevent  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  — the 
sugar  growers  of  the  Southern  States,  and  the  friends 
of  annexation,  who  felt  that  reciprocity  would  postpone 
that  project. 


368  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

These  repeated  efforts  at  annexation  and  commercial 
reciprocity  awakened  the  jealousy  of  the  British  and 
other  foreign  merchants  resident  in  the  islands,  and 
their  views  were  echoed  by  their  diplomatic  representa- 
tives ; but  men  of  foresight  in  England  did  not  seem 
so  blinded  to  coming  events.  The  Hawaiian  commis- 
sioners who  visited  Europe  in  1850  (of  which  notice 
has  already  been  taken),  in  their  interviews  with  the 
British  premier,  were  advised  to  look  forward  to  becom- 
ing an  integral  part  of  the  United  States.  Such,” 
said  Lord  Palmerston,  was  the  destiny  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  arising  from  their  proximity  to  the  State  of 
California  and  Oregon  and  natural  dependence  on  those 
markets  for  exports  and  imports,  together  with  the  prob- 
able extinction  of  the  Hawaiian  aboriginal  population, 
and  its  substitution  by  immigration  from  the  United 
States.”  The  London  Post,”  in  discussing  the  annex- 
ation project  of  1853-54,  while  speaking  in  not  very 
complimentary  terms  of  American  rapacity,”  stated 
that  the  predominance  of  American  influence  made  the 
acquisition  of  the  islands  most  natural,  and  that  it 
should  be  regarded  as  a circumstance  auspicious  to  the 
commerce  of  the  world.^ 

A fear  existed  in  the  islands  that  the  American 
market,  their  chief  dependence  for  prosperity,  might  be 
closed  to  them  by  adverse  tariffs,  and  the  efforts  for  a 
reciprocity  treaty  continued  through  the  succeeding  ten 
years,  during  which  time  one  king  followed  another  in 

^ A.  H.  Allen’s  report,  S.  Ex.  Doc.  No.  46,  52d  Cong.  2d  Sess.  pp.  14- 
18  ; Alexander’s  Hist.  Hawaii,  273-292  ; Hopkins’s  Hawaii,  326,  397 ; 
London  Post,  Oct.  24,  1864. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


369 


quick  succession,  the  lives  of  some  of  them  being  short- 
ened by  intemperance  and  immorality.  The  line  of 
the  Kamehamehas  became  extinct,  and  one  ruler  after 
another  dying  without  a designated  successor,  disorder 
and  riots  ensued,  growing  out  of  the  election  of  a head 
to  the  enfeebled  government,  and  the  presence  on  shore 
of  American  marines  was  time  and  again  invoked  to 
preserve  the  public  peace. 

During  the  administration  of  President  Grant,  Sec- 
retary Fish  authorized  new  negotiations  for  reciprocity, 
so  ardently  desired  by  the  Hawaiians.  In  his  instruc- 
tions to  the  American  minister  he  referred  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  government  and  its  evident  tendency  to 
decay  and  dissolution,  to  the  danger  of  its  falling  under 
foreign  control,  and  stated  that  we  desire  no  ad- 
ditional similar  outposts  [as  Bermuda]  in  the  hands  of 
those  who  may  at  some  future  time  use  them  to  our 
disadvantage.’’  While  authorized  to  entertain  proposi- 
tions for  reciprocity,  the  minister  was  not  to  discourage 
any  feeling  which  might  exist  in  favor  of  annexation. 
The  negotiations  were  opened  at  Honolulu,  but  King 
Kalakaua,  impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  matter, 
sent  two  commissioners  to  Washington,  and  their  action 
resulted  for  the  third  time  in  a treaty  of  commercial 
reciprocity,  those  of  1855  and  1867  having  failed,  as 
noted,  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

This  treaty  provided  for  the  free  reciprocal  introduc- 
tion of  practically  all  the  products  of  Hawaii  into  the 
United  States,  and  of  those  of  the  United  States  into 
Hawaii.  The  opposition  of  the  advocates  of  annexa- 
tion was  overcome  by  the  insertion  of  a stipulation  that 


I 


370  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

none  of  the  territory  of  Hawaii  should  be  leased  or  dis- 
posed of  to  any  other  power,  and  that  none  of  the  priv- 
ileges granted  by  the  treaty  should  be  conferred  upon 
any  other  nation.  With  this  clause  added,  the  treaty 
was  regarded  as  insuring  the  ultimate  acquisition  of 
the  islands  by  the  United  States,  and  it  was  ratified  by 
the  Senate  and  went  into  operation  in  1876. 

This  treaty  is  justly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant events  in  Hawaiian  history.  Its  final  result 
was  to  bring  about  annexation.  Its  immediate  effect 
was  to  create  a great  revival  in  commerce  and  the  native 
industries.  Though  sugar  cultivation  had  commenced 
twenty  years  before  when  the  demand  for  it  arose  in 
California,  it  had  not  been  possible  to  compete  in  the 
United  States  markets  with  the  slave-grown  sugar  of 
other  countries.  The  free  introduction  of  Hawaiian 
sugar  under  the  treaty  gave  a strong  impetus  to  its 
cultivation,  as  also  to  that  of  rice.  The  total  value  of 
exports  in  a few  years  was  increased  more  than  sixfold, 
a corresponding  increase  resulted  in  the  revenues  of  the 
government,  and  the  wealth  of  the  country  was  greatly 
multiplied. 

As  a consequence,  public  and  private  enterprises  were 
stimulated,  and  an  unexampled  era  of  prosperity  fol- 
lowed. Government  buildings  and  other  improvements 
of  public  utility  were  constructed  ; railroads  and  tele- 
graph lines  put  in  operation  ; expensive  systems  of  irri- 
gation were  installed ; many  artesian  wells  were  sunk 
for  sugar  cultivation  ; and  new  schools,  hospitals,  and 
churches  were  erected  — all  as  the  direct  result  of  the 
reciprocity  treaty. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


371 


It  had  still  another  effect  which  brought  about  a 
radical  change  in  the  population  of  the  islands.  As 
sugar  cultivation  became  very  profitable,  it  was  largely 
extended,  and  this  occasioned  an  unusual  demand  for 
labor.  It  could  not  be  supplied  from  the  native  popu- 
lation, as  the  aboriginal  race  was  unwilling  to  undergo 
the  fatigues  and  hardships  of  the  plantations.  Efforts 
were  made  to  obtain  laborers  from  the  other  Polynesian 
islands,  but  they  proved  unsatisfactory.  Over  ten  thou- 
sand Portuguese  were  brought  from  the  Azores,  but  the 
supply  from  that  source  was  limited.  As  the  area 
brought  under  cultivation  was  enlarged,  the  planters 
turned  to  the  overflowing  populations  of  China  and 
Japan,  and  more  than  twenty  thousand  from  each  of 
those  countries  were  brought  into  the  islands.  By  these 
means  the  native  inhabitants,  decreasing  steadily  in 
numbers,  became  a minority,  idle,  thriftless,  and  com- 
paratively unimportant.  The  property  and  wealth  had, 
in  great  measure,  passed  into  the  hands  of  people  of 
alien  races.^ 

The  duration  of  the  reciprocity  treaty  was  fixed  at 
seven  years,  but  after  some  negotiation  it  was  renewed 
in  1884  with  an  important  additional  clause.  This  was 
the  granting  to  the  United  States  of  the  exclusive  use 
of  Pearl  Harbor  for  a naval  station,  with  the  right  to 
improve  and  fortify  it.  In  1873  General  Schofield  had 
been  sent  by  President  Grant  to  the  islands  to  make  a 
survey  with  a view  to  the  location  of  such  a station, 
and  he  made  a report  in  favor  of  Pearl  Harbor,  and 
later  appeared  before  a Congressional  committee  and 
1 Allen’s  Report  (cited),  19-22  ; Alexander’s  Hist.  Hawaii,  303-311. 


I 


372  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

urged  the  importance  of  some  measure  looking  to  the 
control  of  the  islands. 

The  action  of  the  Hawaiian  government  in  ceding 
Pearl  Harbor  to  the  United  States  led  to  a protest  from 
the  British  minister  in  Honolulu,  who  said  that  such 
cession  would  infallibly  lead  to  the  loss  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  islands/’  but  he  based  his  objection  to 
it  on  the  ground  that  it  was  in  violation  of  an  article 
of  the  British  treaty  with  that  country  which  gave  to 
British  vessels  of  -war  liberty  of  entry  to  all  harbors  to 
which  ships  of  other  nationalities  were  admitted.  The 
Hawaiian  government,  however,  did  not  admit  the 
British  contention. 

During  the  first  administration  of  President  Cleve- 
land action  was  taken  on  several  subjects  indicating  the 
paramount  influence  or  authority  of  the  United  States 
in  Hawaii.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  proclaim  the 
renewal  of  the  reciprocity  treaty,  with  the  Pearl  Harbor 
clause.  In  1886  an  attempt  to  make  a loan  in  London 
of  $2,000,000  upon  the  hypothecation  of  the  customs 
revenues  of  Hawaii  was  defeated.  Secretary  Bayard 
taking  the  position  that  it  was  in  conflict  with  the 
clause  of  the  reciprocity  treaty  which  forbade  the  ces- 
sion of  territory  to  any  other  country  or  the  creation 
of  a lien  upon  any  port.  In  1887  the  British  minister 
approached  the  government  at  Washington  with  a 
request  that  the  United  States  join  Great  Britain  and 
France  in  the  compact  of  1843,  whereby  they  guaran- 
teed the  neutrality  and  independence  of  Hawaii.  Mr. 
Bayard  declined  on  the  ground  that  by  the  reciprocity 
treaty  Hawaii  was  enjoying  material  prosperity,  had 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


373 


entered  into  special  obligations  as  to  the  cession  of  a 
port  and  alienation  of  territory,  and  occupied  towards 
the  United  States  a relation  different  from  that  towards 
all  other  countries.  King  Kalakaua  had  made  an  alli- 
ance with  the  Samoan  king,  and  in  1887  the  approval 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  was  asked  to 
the  compact.  Mr.  Bayard  pointed  out  the  inexpediency 
of  it,  and  withheld  approval. 

The  prosperity  which  attended  the  reciprocity  arrange- 
ment replenished  the  royal  treasury,  and  Kalakaua 
sought  to  make  the  most  out  of  his  good  fortune.  He 
first  visited  the  United  States,  where  he  was  received 
in  a manner  becoming  a royal  neighbor.  Afterwards 
he  made  a tour  of  the  world  and  was  entertained  by 
the  governments  and  crowned  heads  of  Asia  and  of 
Europe.  He  returned  home  with  ambitious  ideas  for 
himself  and  his  kingdom.  In  1883  he  published  a 
protest  against  the  seizure  by  Great  Britain  and  France 
of  various  groups  in  Polynesia,  while  the  alliance  with 
Samoa  was  another  of  his  schemes  for  giving  impor- 
tance to  his  reign. 

An  adventurer  named  Gibson  had  ingratiated  him- 
self into  the  favor  of  Kalakaua,  and  had  been  made 
prime  minister,  and  the  Samoan  alliance  was  attempted 
under  his  auspices.  Gibson  claimed  to  be  the  heir  of  a 
great  English  family  ; he  had  been  imprisoned  in  Java, 
whence  he  escaped  to  Salt  Lake  City,  and  was  sent 
by  Brigham  Young  as  a Mormon  apostle  to  Hawaii ; 
becoming  involved  in  trouble  with  the  Saints,”  he 
became  a Protestant,  but  in  a little  while  transferred 
his  spiritual  allegiance  to  the  Pope,  and  was  soon  an 


I 


374  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

influential  member  of  the  native  Roman  Church.  By 
his  artful  methods  he  gained  the  confidence  of  the  king 
and  was  made  the  head  of  his  government.  He  kept 
the  amiable,  but  too  convivial,  monarch  well  supplied 
with  money,  and  in  other  respects  gratified  his  desires. 
He  readily  fell  in  with  his  ambitious  views  and  dis- 
patched the  embassy  to  the  Samoan  king. 

The  solitary  ship  of  the  Hawaiian  navy,  the  little 
Kaimiloa,  was  fitted  out  for  the  voyage,  and  carried  to 
Samoa  a half-caste  native  ambassador,  with  a secretary 
and  the  usual  staff  of  a diplomatic  mission.  On  arrival, 
after  a voyage  during  which  the  crew  mutinied  on  ac- 
count of  short  rations,  the  embassy  established  itself  in 
an  extravagant  style  of  living.  The  treaty  of  alliance 
was  readily  made,  and  was  celebrated  by  a banquet 
given  by  the  Hawaiians.  As  morning  dawned  the  floor 
of  the  banquet  hall  was  found  covered  with  Samoan 
chiefs,  who  had  to  be  carried  to  their  homes.  The  com- 
ment of  the  Samoan  king  to  one  of  the  embassy  was  : 

If  you  have  come  to  teach  my  people  to  drink,  I wish 
you  had  stayed  away.’^  The  Kaimiloa  was  hypothe- 
cated to  raise  funds  to  get  the  embassy  away  from  the 
islands,  its  departure  being  hastened  by  the  jealousy  of 
the  Germans.  On  its  return  to  Honolulu  it  found  Gib- 
son dismissed  from  office  and  in  jail.  His  expulsion 
from  the  country  soon  followed.  By  such  exploits  and 
through  such  advisers  Kalakaua’s  administration  was 
much  discredited  by  the  better  class  of  residents  and  in 
the  United  States. 

During  the  sessions  of  the  International  American 
Conference  at  Washington  in  1890,  Congress  adopted 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII  375 

a resolution  to  extend  an  invitation  to  the  government 
of  Hawaii  to  participate  in  the  conference.  By  this 
act  the  islands  were  recognized  as  a part  of  the  Ameri- 
can body  of  states,  and  the  Monroe  doctrine  was  ap- 
plied to  their  political  status.^  This  step,  however,  did 
not  alter  the  intimate  relation  which  they  held  to  the 
Orient.  From  their  earliest  contact  with  the  United 
States  these  islands  had  been  a base  of  operations  for 
the  trade  of  China,  and  the  growing  power  of  Japan 
had  given  to  them  added  importance  in  the  Pacific. 

Kalakaua  died  in  1891  while  visiting  California  for 
his  health,  and  was  succeeded  by  Princess  Liliuokalani, 
who  had  previously  been  proclaimed  heir  to  the  throne. 
Although  the  petty  kingdom  was  the  merest  mimicry 
of  a monarchy,  the  substantial  residents  were  disposed 
to  tolerate  the  king  in  his  whims  and  extravagancies  of 
life  and  policy  because  of  his  kindly  disposition  and 
of  his  good  intentions  for  his  country.  But  his  death 
precipitated  the  end  of  the  monarchy,  which  events  had 
already  indicated  as  inevitable.  The  new  ruler  from 
the  beginning  manifested  a headstrong  disposition,  an 
intention  to  control  the  government  by  her  own  will, 
and  to  surround  herself  with  a body  of  advisers  and  in- 
timates of  bad  character  and  of  ill  omen  for  the  coun- 
try. Her  accession  to  power  was  followed  by  much 
dissatisfaction,  and  revolutionary  schemes  began  to  take 
shape.  The  bribery  and  corruption  which  prevailed 
and  the  orgies  which  defiled  the  palace  during  the 

1 Allen’s  Report,  23-26  ; Alexander’s  Hist.  Hawaii,  304  ; A Foot-Note 
to -History  (Samoa),  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  New  York,  1892,  p.  56  ; 
U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  ii.  p.  645. 


376  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

reign  of  Kalakaua  were  continued  under  the  queen, 
and  the  government  went  from  bad  to  worse,  the  ses- 
sions of  the  national  legislature  being  marked  by  open 
bribery,  apparently  with  the  approval  of  the  head  of  the 
state. 

A crisis  came  in  January,  1893.  The  queen  was 
determined  to  overthrow  the  existing  constitution  and 
to  proclaim  one  whereby  more  autocratic  power  would 
be  possessed  by  her.  As  the  first  step  to  this  end  she 
sought  to  rid  herself  of  her  constitutional  ministry. 
The  legislature  was  prorogued,  and  the  nobles  and  the 
diplomatic  corps  were  summoned  to  the  palace,  the  pur- 
pose being  understood  to  be  to  witness  the  promulga- 
tion of  the  new  constitution.  This  aroused  the  fears 
and  hostility  of  the  leading  inhabitants  of  Honolulu, 
who  assembled  in  mass  meeting,  denounced  the  contem- 
plated measure,  appointed  a committee  of  public  safety, 
which  proceeded  at  once  to  organize  their  adherents 
into  a military  force.  The  queen,  being  alarmed  at  the 
magnitude  and  earnestness  of  the  opposition,  dismissed 
the  nobles  and  diplomats,  and  from  the  balcony  of  the 
palace  announced  to  her  native  adherents,  who  were 
clamoring  for  the  new  constitution,  that  she  had  been 
forced  to  postpone  its  promulgation,  and  later  she  is- 
sued a proclamation  that  no  change  would  take  place 
except  by  constitutional  methods. 

The  committee  of  public  safety,  satisfied  that  she 
would  embrace  the  first  opportunity  to  carry  out  her  cher- 
ished plan,  began  preparations,  on  January  16,  for  deci- 
sive action  to  put  an  end  to  the  corrupt  government. 
It  being  apparent  that  a revolution  was  impending. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


377 


the  American  minister  requested  the  United  States 
naval  commander  to  land  marines  to  protect  American 
interests,  and  at  five  o’clock  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
16th  a detachment  of  troops  was  landed  and  placed 
about  the  legation  and  consulate.  On  the  day  follow- 
ing, January  17,  1893,  the  revolutionists  assembled 
under  arms,  and,  marching  to  the  government  build- 
ing, proclaimed  the  overthrow  of  the  monarchy,  and 
the  committee  of  public  safety  took  possession  of  the 
government  without  loss  of  life.  The  queen  alleged 
that  her  adherents  had  been  overawed  by  the  landing 
of  the  United  States  troops,  and,  while  peacefully  sub- 
mitting to  the  change,  she  appealed  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  restore  her  to  power. 

A provisional  government  was  at  once  established, 
with  Judge  S.  B.  Dole  as  president.  Judge  Dole  was 
born  in  Honolulu,  of  American  parentage,  and  resigned 
from  the  Supreme  Court  to  accept  the  position.  The 
new  government  was  organized  without  opposition 
throughout  the  islands  and  recognized  as  the  de  facto 
government  by  the  representatives  of  all  the  foreign 
powers  resident  at  the  capital.  One  of  its  first  acts 
was  to  dispatch  a commission  of  its  citizens  to  W ashing- 
ton  to  negotiate  a treaty  of  annexation  to  the  American 
Union.  The  commissioners  arrived  in  Washington  on 
February  3,  and,  being  introduced  by  the  resident 
Hawaiian  minister  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  laid  before 
him  their  credentials  and  asked  to  enter  upon  negotia- 
tions. President  Harrison,  having  satisfied  himself  that 
they  represented  the  de  facto  and  established  govern- 
ment, and  that  ultimate  annexation  had  been  for  many 


378 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


years  the  policy  of  the  United  States,  authorized  nego- 
tiations, which  resulted  in  the  signing  of  a treaty  on 
February  14  providing  for  the  incorporation  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  into  the  United  States  as  a territory.^ 

President  Harrison’s  administration  came  to  a close 
on  March  3,  and  in  the  brief  time  before  adjournment 
no  action  was  taken  on  the  treaty  by  the  Senate.  One 
of  the  first  acts  of  Mr.  Cleveland  after  his  inauguration 
for  a second  term  was  to  withdraw  the  treaty  of  annex- 
ation from  the  Senate.  He  was  impressed  by  the  decla- 
ration of  the  queen  that  she  had  been  dethroned 
through  the  presence  of  the  United  States  troops  and 
against  the  will  of  a large  majority  of  her  subjects,  and 
he  sent  a commissioner,  Hon.  J.  H.  Blount,  to  Hawaii 
to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  causes  of  the  revolu- 
tion and  the  sentiments  of  the  people  towards  the  pro- 
visional government.  After  a lengthy  investigation 
Mr.  Blount  reported  that  the  party  which  supported 
the  new  government  constituted  the  intelligence  and 
owned  most  of  the  property  on  the  islands,  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  natives  were  in  favor  of  the  ex- 
queen, and  that  the  revolution  succeeded  through  the 
support  of  the  United  States  minister  and  troops. 

Upon  the  return  of  Mr.  Blount,  President  Cleveland 
appointed  a minister  to  Hawaii,  accredited  to  the  pro- 
visional government,  but  with  instructions  to  inform 
the  ex-queen  that  upon  the  facts  reported  by  Mr. 

^ For  events  of  Kalakaua’s  reign,  U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  ii.  p. 
646.  For  sketch  of  revolution,  ib.  777  ; Minister  Stevens’s  account,  ib. 
207.  For  President  Harrison’s  message  and  treaty  of  annexation  of 
1893,  ib.  197. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


379 


Blount  he  had  decided  that  she  ought  to  be  restored  to 
power,  upon  condition  that  she  would  grant  full  am- 
nesty to  all  persons.  The  minister  had  an  interview 
with  the  ex-queen  and  informed  her  of  the  President’s 
decision.  She  replied  that  she  would  behead  the  leaders 
of  the  revolution  and  confiscate  their  property.  This 
answer  was  communicated  to  the  President  and  a reply 
was  received  by  the  minister  that  he  would  cease  all 
efforts  to  restore  her  sovereignty  unless  she  agreed  to 
amnesty.  A month  after  the  first  interview  a second 
was  held  in  which  the  ex-queen  stated  that  the  leaders 
of  the  revolution  should  be  banished  and  their  property 
confiscated.  Two  days  afterwards,  December  18,  1893, 
she  repeated  her  declaration,  but  after  the  third  inter- 
view she  gave  her  consent  in  writing  to  the  wishes  of 
the  President. 

On  the  next  day  the  minister  asked  for  an  interview 
with  President  Dole  and  his  ministers,  which  was  at 
once  granted.  He  then  communicated  to  them  the 
views  of  President  Cleveland  and  the  written  assurance 
of  the  ex-queen,  and  asked  them  to  relinquish  promptly 
to  her  the  government.  On  the  23d  President  Dole 
replied  by  note,  denying  the  right  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  to  interfere  in  the  domestic  affairs 
of  the  Hawaiian  government,  and  respectfully  and  un- 
hesitatingly ” declined  ^^to  surrender  its  authority  to 
the  ex-queen.” 

On  the  assembling  of  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  in  December,  1893,  President  Cleveland  sent  a 
special  message  to  that  body,  in  which  he  gave  the 
reasons  for  the  course  he  had  pursued,  inclosed  the 


380  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

correspondence  and  documents  relating  to  the  question, 
and  submitted  the  subject  to  the  broader  authority 
and  discretion  of  Congress.”  Upon  recemng  President 
Dole’s  declination  to  surrender  the  government,  the 
correspondence  relating  to  it  and  the  report  of  the  ex- 
queen’s conduct  were  transmitted  to  Congress  without 
comment.  The  whole  subject  having  been  relegated  to 
Congress,  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  of  the 
Senate  made  an  extended  investigation,  examined  a 
large  number  of  witnesses,  and  submitted  a majority 
report  through  Senator  Morgan,  which  vindicated  the 
diplomatic  and  naval  officers  of  the  United  States  from 
undue  influence,  declared  that  the  recognition  of  the 
provisional  government  was  lawful  and  authorita- 
tive,” and  found  that  the  queen’s  proposed  action  to 
overturn  the  constitution  was  itself  revolutionary.  The 
minority  of  the  committee  dissented  from  these  find- 
ings. No  further  action  on  the  subject  was  taken  by 
that  body.^ 

The  provisional  government,  having  accepted  the 
action  of  President  Cleveland  as  a rejection  by  the 
executive  of  the  treaty  of  annexation,  proceeded  to 
effect  a permanent  organization.  An  election  was  or- 
dered for  delegates  to  a constitutional  convention,  the 
electors  being  all  adult  male  inhabitants  of  native, 
American,  or  European  descent  who  took  the  oath  to 
support  the  government.  The  convention  assembled 

^ For  President  Cleveland’s  messages,  9 Presidents’  Messages,  393  ; 
U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  ii.  pp.  267,  445,  1193,  1241,  1285.  Mr. 
Blount’s  Report,  ib.  pp.  467-1150.  On  restoration  of  the  queen,  ib.  pp. 
1189-1292.  Senate  Report  of  1894,  S.  Report  No.  227,  53d  Cong.  2d 
Sess. 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


381 


and  adopted  a republican  form  of  government,  the  con- 
stitution being  proclaimed  and  the  republic  organized 
on  July  4,  1894/ 

The  new  government  received  the  prompt  recogni- 
tion of  all  the  powers  having  treaty  relations  with 
Hawaii,  including  the  United  States,  and  its  authority 
was  peacefully  acquiesced  in  by  the  inhabitants  through- 
out the  entire  group.  The  bloodthirsty  conduct  of 
the  ex-queen  satisfied  the  responsible  and  intelhgent 
residents  that  she  was  unworthy  to  be  reinstated,  and 
it  Hkewise  disgusted  those  persons  in  the  United  States 
who  had  been  inclined  to  sympathize  with  her  as  an 
unjustly  dethroned  ruler.  The  republican  authorities 
continued  to  administer  the  government,  with  a single 
feeble  attempt  at  revolution  in  January,  1895,  which 
was  promptly  suppressed,  through  a period  of  four 
years  in  which  the  country  enjoyed  unexampled  peace 
and  prosperity.  Never  before  in  its  history  had  there 
been  such  honesty  in  administration,  such  economy  in 
expenditures,  such  uniform  justice  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  laws  and  respect  for  the  officials,  such  advance 
in  education,  and  such  encouragement  of  commerce 
and  protection  to  life  and  property. 

Soon  after  a change  in  the  government  at  Washing- 
ton had  occurred,  by  the  inauguration  of  President 
McKinley,  the  subject  of  annexation  was  revived,  and 
on  June  16,  1897,  a new  treaty  was  signed,  similar  to 
the  one  made  in  1893,  except  that  the  provision  for 
annuities  to  the  ex-queen  and  late  heir  apparent  were 
omitted,  and  it  was  sent  to  the  Senate  for  its  considera- 
tion and  action. 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  ii.  1311-1319,  1350. 


382  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

When  this  fact  became  public  the  Japanese  govern- 
ment, through  its  minister  in  Washington,  sent  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  a protest  against  the  annexation,  on 
the  ground,  first,  that  the  maintenance  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  Hawaii  was  essential  to  the  good  under- 
standing of  the  powers  having  interests  in  the  Pacific ; 
second,  that  annexation  would  tend  to  endanger  the 
rights  of  Japanese  subjects  resident  in  Hawaii  secured 
by  treaty ; and,  third,  that  it  might  postpone  the  settle- 
ment of  Japanese  claims  against  Hawaii.  To  the  state- 
ment of  the  Secretary  of  State  that  Japan  had  made  no 
protest  against  the  treaty  of  1893,  the  answer  was  that 
since  that  date  the  enlargement  of  the  interests  of 
Japan  and  its  expanding  activities  in  the  Pacific  had 
created  a very  different  situation.  The  Japanese  popu- 
lation in  Hawaii  had  so  increased  as  to  exceed  the 
native  inhabitants ; and  since  the  war  with  China  the 
Japanese  in  the  islands  had  become  quite  self-assertive, 
and  their  government  so  positive  in  the  enforcement  of 
the  claims  of  its  subjects  as  to  alarm  seriously  the 
Hawaiian  republic.^  Assurances,  however,  being  given 
that  Japanese  treaty  rights  and  pending  claims  should 


^ The  population  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  as  shown  by  the  official 
census  of  the  United  States  for  1900,  was  as  follows  : — 


Hawaiians 29,799 

Part  Hawaiians  7,857 

Caucasians 28,819 

Chinese 25,767 

Japanese 61,111 

All  others 648 


PER  CENT. 

19.3 

5.1 

18.7 

16.7 

39.7 
0.5 


154,001 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


383 


not  be  prejudiced  by  annexation,  the  protest  of  the 
imperial  government  was  not  further  pressed,  and  the 
friendly  relations  were  not  disturbed. 

The  treaty  was  still  pending  in  the  Senate  when  the 
United  States  declared  war  against  Spain  in  April, 
1898,  and  after  Admiral  Dewey’s  victory  in  Manila  Bay 
it  was  manifest  that  the  occupation  of  the  Hawaiian 
Islands  had  become  a military  necessity.  There  being 
some  question  as  to  the  possibility  of  securing  the 
requisite  two  thirds  vote  in  the  Senate  for  the  approval 
of  the  treaty  of  annexation,  it  was  determined  to  follow 
the  precedent  in  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  to  bring 
about  the  result  by  means  of  a joint  resolution  of  the 
two  houses.  The  terms  of  the  treaty  were  thereupon 
embodied  in  such  a resolution,  and,  after  a brief  dis- 
cussion in  each  chamber,  it  was  passed  by  more  than  a 
two  thirds  vote  in  both  houses,  and  became  a law 
July  7,  1898.' 

The  necessary  formalities  were  promptly  complied 
with,  and  Hawaii  was  incorporated  into  the  American 
Union.  It  was,  in  accordance  with  the  treaty  and 
joint  resolution,  constituted  a territory,  and  President 
Dale  was  appointed  the  first  governor.  In  1900  Con- 
gress passed  an  act  for  the  organization  of  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Hawaii,  in  which  the  elective  franchise  was 
conferred  upon  all  Hawaiian  citizens,  who  by  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  had  become  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

1 For  treaty  of  1897,  S.  Report  No.  681,  55th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  p.  96. 
For  debate  in  House,  Congressional  Record,  vol.  xxxi.  pp.  5770-5973  ; in 
Senate,  6140-6693.  For  Joint  Resolution,  30  Stat.  at  L.  750.  For 
organic  act  of  territory,  31  Stat.  at  L.  141. 


384  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

The  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  has  been  peace- 
fully accepted  by  aU  its  inhabitants,  and  after  a hun- 
dred years  of  turmoil  and  uncertainty  the  islands  are 
reposing  in  prosperity  and  stability,  disturbed  only  by 
the  political  excitement  incident  to  a democratic  system 
of  government. 

It  has  not  been  possible,  within  the  compass  of  this 
volume,  to  narrate  in  detail  the  events  attending  the 
transfer  of  Hawaii  to  the  United  States  or  to  review 
the  merits  of  the  controversy  on  that  subject.  The 
citation  of  official  documents  given  will  enable  the 
student  to  pursue  his  investigation  at  will. 

The  annexation  of  Hawaii  to  the  United  States  was 
the  necessary  result  of  the  policy  announced  by  Secre- 
tary Webster  in  1842,  and  steadily  pursued  by  each 
succeeding  administration.  This  result  was  foreseen 
by  European  statesmen  such  as  Lord  Palmerston,  and 
by  intelligent  observers  of  the  geographical  situation  of 
the  islands  in  relation  to  the  commerce  of  the  Pacific. 
The  reasons  for  it  were  doubly  increased  by  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  Philippine  Islands.  Hawaii  then  became 
more  than  an  outpost  of  the  territory  of  the  American 
Union  on  the  western  coast  of  the  continent.  It  was  a 
link  in  the  chain  of  its  possessions  in  the  Pacific.  It 
would  have  been  the  excess  of  political  unwisdom  to 
allow  this  group  of  islands  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
Great  Britain  or  Japan,  either  of  which  powers  stood 
ready  to  occupy  them. 

The  native  inhabitants  had  proved  themselves  in- 
capable of  maintaining  a respectable  and  responsible 
government,  and  lacked  the  energy  or  the  will  to 


THE  ANNEXATION  OF  HAWAII 


385 


improve  the  advantages  which  Providence  had  given 
them  in  a fertile  soil.  They  were  fast  dying  out  as  a 
race,  and  their  places  were  being  occupied  by  sturdy 
laborers  from  China  and  Japan.  There  was  presented 
to  the  American  residents  the  same  problem  which  con- 
fronted their  forefathers  two  centuries  before  in  their 
contact  with  the  aborigines  of  the  Atlantic  coast. 

A government  was  established  in  Hawaii  which  had 
all  the  elements  of  a de  jure  and  de  facto  sovereignty, 
and  had  vigorously  maintained  itself  for  four  years.  It 
sought  for  incorporation  into  the  American  Union. 
Under  all  the  circumstances  the  President  and  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  would  have  been  recreant  to 
their  trust  if  they  had  failed  to  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity. 


XII 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 

•A  REVIEW  of  the  diplomatic  relations  of  the  United 
States  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  would  hardly  be  complete 
without  some  reference  to  the  Samoan  Islands,  although 
their  situation  south  of  the  equator  places  them  in  great 
measure  beyond  the  sphere  of  American  activity  in  that 
ocean.  Besides,  their  recent  history  brings  into  prom- 
inence the  policy  of  the  United  States  respecting  the 
native  governments  of  the  groups  of  islands  in  Poly- 
nesia, and  furnishes  an  example  of  the  effects  of  an 
alliance  or  joint  engagement  with  other  powers. 

The  first  permanent  intercourse  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Samoan  group  with  foreigners  was  with  missionaries. 
A few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  American 
missions  in  Hawaii,  the  London  Missionary  Society  — 
an  organization  which  has  done  much  useful  work  in 
Polynesia  — sent  missionaries  to  Samoa,  and  they  have 
continued  to  labor  there  with  considerable  success  up 
to  the  present  time.  The  general  testimony  is  that 
their  influence  on  the  inhabitants  has  been  salutary. 
Mr.  Tripp,  the  United  States  commissioner  sent  in  1899 
to  investigate  the  condition  of  affairs,  reported  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  that  these  people  are  far  from 
being  savages.  They  are  splendid  specimens  of  physi- 
cal manhood,  and  all  are  well  informed  about  matters 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


387 


of  general  information.  They  are  nearly  all  Christians, 
and  are  very  devout  in  their  attachment  to  their  church 
and  religion.  . . . Thanhs  to  the  missionaries  the  great 
bulk  of  the  natives  and  nearly  all  the  chiefs  can  read 
and  write  and  are  adopting  the  habits  of  civilization 
with  great  alacrity.”  In  recent  years  the  Catholics 
have  established  missions,  and  have  gathered  a consider- 
able number  of  adherents. 

Foreign  traders  arrived  soon  after  the  missionaries, 
but  it  was  several  years  before  they  permanently  settled 
in  the  islands.  The  first  to  establish  themselves  were 
the  Germans,  and  they  were  followed  by  British  and 
Americans.  The  intercourse  of  this  class  has  had  a 
most  deleterious  effect  upon  the  natives.  They  inter- 
fered with  the  government,  stirred  up  strife,  and  set  the 
people  at  variance  with  each  other  through  their  support 
of  rival  chiefs.  They  circumvented  or  disregarded  the 
prohibitions  which  the  missionaries  had  induced  the 
native  rulers  to  enact  against  the  importation  of  fire- 
arms and  liquors.  The  injurious  effect  of  this  impor- 
tation was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  British 
government,  and  Parliament  enacted  laws  making  the 
traffic  unlawful  for  British  subjects  in  the  islands  stiff 
under  native  rule.  Hence  the  guilty  parties  in  this 
nefarious  commerce  were  mostly  the  Germans  and 
Americans. 

The  first  time  the  attention  of  the  United  States  was 
officially  called  to  these  islands  was  in  1872.  Com- 
mander Meade,  in  the  naval  steamer  Narragansett,  on  a 
cruise  in  the  South  Pacific,  entered  the  harbor  of  Pago 
Pago  in  Tutuila,  and  found  the  islands  in  a state  of 


388  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

great  disorder  and  fearful  of  foreign  domination.  At 
the  solicitation  of  the  great  chief  of  the  island  of  Tu- 
tuila  he  entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  latter 
whereby  the  harbor  of  Pago  Pago  — said  to  be  the 
best  in  the  South  Seas  — was  ceded  to  the  United  States 
as  a naval  station,  and  the  commander  for  his  govern- 
ment assumed  a protectorate  over  the  dominions  of  the 
chief.  Although  the  act  was  done  without  authority, 
President  Grant  sent  the  agreement  to  the  Senate  for 
its  consideration,  stating  that  the  acquisition  of  the 
harbor  would  be  of  great  advantage,  but  that  a modifi- 
cation as  to  the  proposed  protectorate  ought  to  be  made 
before  the  agreement  should  be  approved.  The  Senate, 
however,  took  no  action  upon  it. 

Doubtless  influenced  by  the  Meade  agreement.  Sec- 
retary Fish  in  1873  sent  a special  agent  — A.  B. 
Steinberger  — to  Samoa  to  report  upon  its  condition, 
especially  with  a view  to  the  increase  of  commercial  re- 
lations. Steinberger  returned  to  the  United  States  and 
submitted  his  report,  and  was  again  sent  to  the  islands, 
bearing  kindly  messages  and  presents  from  the  Presi- 
dent to  its  chiefs.  In  his  instructions  he  was  told  that 
he  could  not  give  the  chiefs  any  assurance  of  a protec- 
torate, as  it  was  adverse  to  the  usual  traditions  of 
the  government.’’  With  this  second  visit  Steinberger’s 
connection  with  the  government  of  the  United  States 
ceased,  but  he  had  so  ingratiated  himself  with  the 
rulers  as  to  be  made  their  adviser,  and  for  a few  years 
was  the  controlHng  spirit  of  the  island  government. 
He,  however,  incurred  the  disfavor  of  the  British  and 
American  consuls,  because  of  too  great  an  intimacy 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


389 


with  the  leading  German  firm,  and  with  the  approval 
of  the  American  consul  was  deported  in  a British  man- 
of-war,  and  thus  ended  his  career  as  premier.^ 

The  disorder  in  Samoa  continuing,  the  chiefs  looked 
to  some  foreign  power  to  give  them  a stable  govern- 
ment. A deputation  went  in  1877  to  Fiji  to  ask  sup- 
port from  the  British  authorities  there,  but  without 
success.  The  same  year  they  dispatched  an  envoy  to 
Washington  to  seek  a protectorate  from  the  United 
States.  The  protectorate  was  declined,  but  Secretary 
Evarts  made  a commercial  treaty  with  him  in  1878, 
which  was  afterwards  ratified  by  the  chiefs,  and  in 
which  the  use  of  Pago  Pago  as  a naval  station  was 
secured.  The  following  year  commercial  treaties  with 
the  chiefs  were  made  by  Germany  and  Great  Britain. 
Thus  by  these  three  powers  was  the  independence  of 
Samoa  recognized.  The  treaties  were  followed  by  a 
convention  the  same  year  between  the  three  powers, 
represented  by  their  consuls,  and  the  king  of  Samoa, 
whereby  a municipal  government,  under  control  of  the 
three  consuls,  was  provided  for  Apia,  the  chief  town  of 
the  islands.^ 

The  next  few  years  were  full  of  wrangling  between 
the  consuls  of  the  three  treaty  powers,  and  of  discord, 
and  sometimes  of  open  war,  betw^een  the  recognized 
king,  Malietoa,  and  the  rival  aspirants,  Tamasese  and 

^ 7 Presidents’  Messages,  168  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  45,  43d  Cong.  1st  Sess.  ; 
H.  Ex.  Doc.  161,  44th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  ; H.  Ex.  Doc.  44,  44th  Cong.  2d 
Sess.  ; A Foot-Note  to  History,  Eight  Years  of  Trouble  in  Samoa,  by 
Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  New  York,  1892,  p.  38. 

2 7 Presidents’  Messages,  469, 497  ; Treaties  of  U.  S.  972  ; H.  Ex.  Doc. 
238,  50th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  pp.  126-134. 


390  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Mataafa.  The  Germans  had  been  longest  on  the 
islands,  and  controlled  much  the  greater  part  of  their 
trade.  They  had  also  acquired,  largely  by  very  ques- 
tionable transactions  with  the  natives,  the  possession 
of  considerable  areas  of  land.  The  trade  with  Great 
Britain  was  next  in  importance,  but  very  small.  The 
British  government  had  two  reasons  for  its  interest  in 
the  islands : the  presence  of  the  English  missionaries 
and  the  proximity  of  its  possessions  in  that  quarter  of 
the  globe.  The  commerce  of  the  United  States  was 
quite  insignificant,  and  there  were  few  American  resi- 
dents. The  chiefs  had,  however,  time  and  again  peti- 
tioned the  United  States  to  extend  its  protection  against 
occupation  by  other  powers,  and  twice  had  the  American 
consul,  upon  his  own  responsibility,  raised  the  national 
flag,  to  prevent,  as  he  alleged,  the  annexation  of  the 
islands,  first  by  Great  Britain  and  then  by  Germany. 

This  turbulent  state  of  affairs  reached  a crisis  in 
1885,  when  the  German  consul,  on  the  claim  that 
German  interests  were  not  protected,  assumed  control 
of  affairs  in  the  name  of  his  government,  and  raised 
his  flag  in  evidence  of  the  exercise  of  sovereignty. 
This  was  responded  to  on  the  part  of  the  American 
consul  by  the  display  of  his  flag,  accompanied  by  the 
proclamation  of  an  American  protectorate  over  the 
islands.  The  act  of  the  consul  was  promptly  disavowed 
by  the  United  States,  and  later  the  German  government 
disclaimed  responsibihty  for  the  conduct  of  its  consul. 
But  the  events  caused  Secretary  Bayard  to  address  a 
note  to  both  the  German  and  British  governments,  ask- 
ing that  their  ministers  at  Washington  be  authorized 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


391 


to  confer  with  him  upon  some  scheme  which  would 
preserve  the  peace  and  assure  to  the  islands  a stable 
government.  This  proposition  was  assented  to,  and  a 
conference  of  the  three  powers  was  held  in  Washington 
during  the  year  1887. 

Two  plans  for  the  reorganization  of  the  Samoan  gov- 
ernment were  submitted.  One  was  by  the  German 
minister,  and  was  supported  by  his  British  colleague, 
the  two  governments  having  apparently  reached  an 
understanding  as  to  their  respective  interests  in  the 
Pacific.  This  plan,  based  upon  the  claim  of  the  superior 
interests  of  Germany  in  Samoa,  would  have  given  to 
that  power  a controlling  influence  in  the  islands.  Mr. 
Bayard  strenuously  objected  to  the  predominant  control 
of  any  one  power,  and  he  proposed  that  the  adminis- 
tration of  affairs  should  be  committed  to  an  executive 
council  consisting  of  the  king  and  three  foreigners,  one 
to  be  nominated  by  each  of  the  powers,  and  that  the 
three  governments  should  in  turn  keep  a vessel  in 
Samoan  waters,  to  preserve  the  peace,  and  enforce,  if 
necessary,  the  orders  of  the  executive  council. 

The  conference  failed  to  reach  an  agreement,  and  an 
adjournment  of  some  months  was  taken,  to  enable  the 
British  and  German  ministers  to  consult  their  govern- 
ments, it  being  understood  that  the  status  quo  would 
be  meanwhile  maintained.  Immediately  after  the  ad- 
journment, the  German  consul,  under  the  orders  of  his 
government,  made  a demand  upon  Malietoa  for  repara- 
tion for  certain  wrongs  alleged  to  have  been  committed 
by  him  and  his  people  previous  to  the  meeting  of  the 
conference,  and  upon  his  refusal  war  was  declared. 


392  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

Malietoa  was  dethroned  and  deported,  and  Tamasese 
was  installed  as  king,  with  a German,  one  Brandeis,  as 
adviser.  This  provoked  a counter-revolution  led  by 
Mataafa,  and  again  general  disorder  prevailed  through- 
out the  group. 

Much  indignation  was  felt  in  the  United  States 
against  Germany  on  account  of  its  attitude  in  Samoa, 
and  Congress  made  an  appropriation  of  a half  milHon 
of  dollars  for  the  protection  of  American  interests. 
President  Cleveland  dispatched  a squadron  of  the  navy 
to  Apia,  which  soon  after  its  arrival  was  destroyed  in 
the  harbor  by  a hurricane,  with  the  loss  of  a consider- 
able number  of  its  officers  and  men,  an  event  which 
cast-a  gloom  over  the  country,  but  gave  increased  inter- 
est to  the  question. 

Secretary  Bayard,  by  note  to  the  minister  at  Berlin, 
made  an  energetic  protest  against  the  action  of  the 
German  authorities  in  Samoa,  taken  with  a view  to  ob- 
tain personal  and  commercial  advantages  and  pohtical 
supremacy,  which  was  in  direct  violation  of  the  agree- 
ment of  the  conference.  On  the  other  hand,  he  de- 
clared that  the  policy  of  the  United  States  had  been 
actuated  not  so  much  by  the  idea  of  any  commercial 
interest,  as  by  a benevolent  desire  to  promote  the  de- 
velopment and  secure  the  independence  of  one  of  the 
few  remaining  autonomous  native  governments  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  He  passed  in  review  the  recent  events 
in  that  quarter  of  the  globe,  showing  how  the  Euro- 
pean governments  had  appropriated,  at  their  own  will, 
the  Polynesian  islands,  until  almost  the  last  vestige  of 
native  autonomy  had  been  obliterated.  ' 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


393 


This  note  initiated  a correspondence,  which  led  to  a 
proposition  from  Count  Bismarck,  in  February,  1889, 
for  the  reassembling  of  the  conference  of  the  three 
powers,  and  invited  a meeting  at  Berlin.  This  propo- 
sition was  promptly  accepted  by  Secretary  Bayard,  but 
as  President  Cleveland’s  administration  was  drawing  to 
a close,  the  appointment  of  the  American  representa- 
tives to  the  conference  was  left  to  his  successor.  Soon 
after  the  inauguration  of  President  Harrison,  Messrs. 
Kasson,  W.  W.  Phelps,  and  Bates  were  appointed  com- 
missioners to  Berlin,  Mr.  Bates  having  made  a visit  to 
Samoa  as  special  agent  under  the  direction  of  Secretary 
Bayard. 

In  giving  instructions  to  the  commissioners.  Secretary 
Blaine  called  attention  to  the  plan  proposed  by  Secre- 
tary Bayard  in  the  first  conference,  and  said  that  It 
was  not  in  harmony  with  the  established  policy  of  this 
government.  For  if  it  is  not  a joint  protectorate,  to 
which  there  are  such  grave  and  obvious  objections,  it  is 
hardly  less  than  that  and  does  not  in  any  event  promise 
efficient  action.”  He  said  the  President  disapproved  of 
the  plan,  but  if  intervention  in  the  affairs  of  Samoa 
should  become  absolutely  necessary  in  the  existing  com- 
plication, It  is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  President  that 
this  intervention  should  be  temporary.”  The  commis- 
sioners, however,  found  that  no  other  plan  than  joint 
intervention  could  save  the  islands  from  the  complete 
control  of  Germany,  and  Secretary  Bayard’s  plan  was 
adopted  in  principle,  though  considerably  modified  in 
detail. 

The  plan  as  finally  agreed  to  recognized  the  inde- 


394  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

pendence  of  the  Samoan  government  and  the  right  of 
the  natives  to  choose  their  king  and  form  of  govern- 
ment according  to  their  own  laws  and  customs ; Mahe- 
toa  was  recognized  as  king  till  his  fixed  term  expired  ; 
a foreign  chief  justice  was  to  be  appointed  by  agree- 
ment of  the  three  powers,  and  was  given  extensive  au- 
thority not  only  of  a judicial,  but  also  of  a political 
character ; a foreign  municipal  government  for  Apia, 
with  a foreign  president  chosen  by  the  three  powers, 
was  to  be  organized  ; and  a foreign  land  commission  of 
three  members,  one  selected  by  each  power,  was  to  be 
constituted  to  pass  upon  all  land  titles,  a measure  which 
had  been  strongly  urged  by  Secretary  Bayard ; a method 
of  taxation  was  devised ; and  the  sale  of  firearms  and 
liquors  to  the  natives  was  prohibited.^ 

It  is  difficult  to  recognize  in  this  plan  an  independ- 
ent Samoan  government,  but  no  other  method  of  secur- 
ing order  and  peace  seemed  possible  except  to  transfer 
the  control  of  the  government  to  Germany.  Malietoa 
and  his  chiefs  signified  their  acceptance  of  the  plan, 
and  the  machinery  of  the  new  government  was  put  into 
operation.  But  in  a little  while  it  began  to  encounter 
difficulties.  The  writs  of  the  chief  justice  were  not  re- 
spected by  the  natives  ; they  likewise  resisted  the  taxes 
levied  upon  them ; the  chief  justice  and  the  president 
of  the  Apia  municipality  were  soon  at  cross-purposes  ; 
and  Mataafa  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  and  when  he 
was  deported  by  the  powers,  Tamasese  continued  the 

^ H.  Ex.  Doc.  238,  50th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  ; S.  Ex.  Docs.  31,  68,  and  102  ; 
H.  Ex.  Docs.  118  and  119,  50th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1889, 
pp.  179-423.  For  tripartite  treaty,  ib.  353. 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


395 


strife  for  the  kingship.  The  three  nations  were  fre- 
quently required  to  intervene  with  their  men-of-war  to 
restore  order ; and  the  event  anticipated  by  Secretary 
Blaine,  that  the  joint  protectorate  scheme  would  not 
produce  efficient  action/’  was  in  process  of  realiza- 
tion. 

During  Mr.  Cleveland’s  second  administration  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  joint  protectorate,  which  his 
former  administration  had  initiated,  was  a failure  ; and 
his  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Gresham,  frankly  recognized 
the  mistake  which  had  been  committed,  characterizing 
it  as  the  first  departure  from  our  traditional  and  well 
established  policy  of  avoiding  entangling  alliances  with 
foreign  powers  in  relation  to  objects  remote  from  this 
hemisphere.”  The  correspondence  respecting  the  sub- 
ject was  sent  to  Congress  in  May,  1894,  and  in  his  next 
annual  message  President  Cleveland  recommended  that 
steps  be  taken  to  withdraw  from  the  joint  government. 
He  renewed  this  recommendation  in  his  annual  message 
of  1895,  but  Congress  took  no  action  respecting  it.^ 

The  unsatisfactory  workings  of  the  tripartite  protec- 
torate continued  during  the  administration  of  President 
McKinley,  but  as  no  better  adjustment  was  suggested, 
the  government  continued  under  that  plan  until  a state 
of  affairs  developed  which  forced  a renewed  considera- 
tion of  the  subject  upon  the  powers.  Malietoa  died  in 
1898,  and  this  event  revived  the  conflicting  claims  to 
the  kingship.  The  chief  justice  decided  in  favor  of 

^ U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1894,  Appendix  i.  p.  504  ; 9 Presidents’  Messages,  439, 
531,  635.  For  events  up  to  1892,  Stevenson’s  Samoa  (cited)  ; from  1881 
to  1885,  My  Consulate  in  Samoa,  by  W.  B.  Churchward,  London,  1887. 


396 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Malietoa  Tanu,  and  Mataafa,  who  had  been  brought 
back  from  exile,  again  inaugurated  civil  war.  The 
German  consul  and  resident  subjects  sympathized  with 
Mataafa,  and  the  American  and  British  consuls  sought 
to  uphold  the  authority  of  the  legitimate  ruler.  This 
awakened  the  former  national  antagonism,  which  had 
for  some  years  been  quiescent.  The  commanders  of 
the  American  and  British  men-of-war,  which  had  been 
sent  to  the  scene  of  disorder,  felt  it  necessary  to . land 
marines  and  restrain  the  aggressions  of  the  natives.  In 
the  conflicts  which  ensued  several  American  officers  and 
sailors  lost  their  lives,  and  a considerable  amount  of 
property  was  destroyed. 

The  governments  of  the  three  nations  determined  to 
seek  an  effective  remedy  for  the  intolerable  condition 
of  affairs,  and  they  appointed  a commission,  consisting 
of  one  representative  of  each  nation,  to  visit  Samoa 
with  full  power  to  take  whatever  steps  were  necessary 
to  restore  order,  and  to  suggest  a plan  for  a permanent 
settlement  of  the  government  of  the  islands.  The 
commission  sailed  from  San  Francisco  in  1899.  On 
their  arrival  their  authority  was  recognized  by  all  the 
consuls  and  by  the  Samoan  officials  and  chiefs,  and  in  a 
short  time  they  were  able  to  establish  order.  On  July 
18  they  united  in  a report,  accompanied  by  a new  plan 
of  government,  which  materially  modified  the  Berlin 
act  or  treaty  of  1889,  but  they  expressed  the  conviction 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  find  a remedy  for  the 
troubles  through  the  joint  administration  of  the  three 
powers. 

It  thus  became  evident  that  joint  control  of  the 


THE  SAMOAN  COMPLICATION 


397 


islands  was  impracticable.  Germany  proposed  a parti- 
tion of  the  group  among  the  powers.  Great  Britain, 
having  the  assurance  from  Germany  of  territorial  com- 
pensation in  other  directions,  acquiesced  in  the  pro- 
position. The  trade  of  the  United  States  with  Samoa 
was  very  inconsiderable,  and  its  chief  material  interest 
in  the  group  was  the  use  of  the  harbor  of  Pago  Pago 
as  a naval  station.  An  agreement  was  finally  reached 
between  the  three  powers  that  the  United  States  should 
be  given  the  control  of  Tutuila  and  its  outlying  islets, 
and  that  all  the  other  islands  should  be  taken  by  Ger- 
many; and  treaties  to  that  effect  were  signed  in  Novem- 
ber and  December,  1899.  Malietoa  Tanu  protested 
against  this  disposition  of  his  kingdom,  and  also  ad- 
dressed a letter  to  the  London  Times,’’  in  which  he 
asserted  that  the  civilization  which  had  been  introduced 
by  the  foreign  governments  into  Polynesia  was  inferior 
to  that  which  its  inhabitants  previously  possessed.^ 

The  United  States  had  made  an  honest  effort  to  pre- 
serve, as  Secretary  Bayard  expressed  it,  almost  the 
last  vestige  of  native  autonomy  in  the  islands  of  the 
Pacific.”  It  had  failed,  mainly  owing  to  the  perverse 
obstruction  of  the  German  interests  in  the  islands,  and 
the  only  alternative  for  the  United  States  seemed  to  be 
a withdrawal  from  the  ineffectual  and  unsatisfactory 
joint  control.  More  than  twenty  years  previously  it 
had  acquired  the  right  to  use  the  commodious  harbor 

^ U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1899,  pp.  604-673  ; for  treaty  of  partition,  ib.  667  ; 
London  Times,  Jan.  12,  1900.  For  full  review  of  Samoan  affairs,  Amer- 
ican Diplomatic  Questions,  by  John  B.  Henderson,  Jr.,  New  York,  1901, 
chap.  iii.  ; for  briefer  account,  American  Relations  in  the  Pacific,  by 
J.  M.  Callahan,  Baltimore,  1901,  chap.  ix. 


398 


AlViERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


of  Pago  Pago,  a privilege  which  had  become  much 
more  valuable  on  account  of  its  recent  great  maritime 
and  territorial  expansion  in  the  Pacific.  In  order  to 
make  that  privilege  effective  it  became  necessary,  in  the 
partition,  to  reserve  to  itself  the  control  of  the  small 
island  which  contains  this  harbor.  Up  to  the  present 
the  inhabitants  of  Tutuila  have  been  left  to  the  govern- 
ment of  their  own  chiefs,  with  such  supervision  as  the 
commandant  of  the  naval  station  of  Pago  Pago  finds  it 
necessary  to  exercise,  in  order  to  restrain  illicit  foreign 
trade  and  intercourse. 

This  experiment  of  controlling  distant  territory  in 
cooperation  with  other  foreign  powers  may  be  accepted 
as  a warning  to  the  United  States  to  .avoid  such  compli- 
cations in  the  future.  And  yet  the  very  next  year  after 
the  abandonment  of  the  tripartite  control  in  Samoa  the 
United  States  was  forced  into  joint  action  with  ten 
other  powers,  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  its  inter- 
ests in  China.  While  the  caution  which  Washington 
gave  his  countrymen  in  his  farewell  address  to  avoid  en- 
tangling alliances  has  not  lost  its  virtue,  the  nation  has 
attained  such  a position  among  the  powers  of  the  earth 
that  it  cannot  remain  a passive  spectator  of  interna- 
tional affairs. 


xm 


THE  SPANISH  WAR  : ITS  RESULTS 

The  foregoing  pages  constitute  a narrative  of  the 
disinterested  efforts  of  the  United  States  to  establish 
and  maintain  friendly  relations  and  free  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  countries  of  the  Orient.  It  has 
been  seen  that  whenever  the  American  representatives 
have  approached  the  governments  of  China,  Japan, 
Korea,  and  Siam,  it  was  with  the  statement  that  their 
far-away  people  cherish  no  scheme  of  territorial  ag- 
grandizement in  that  region  of  the  world,  and  that 
their  only  desire  was  to  secure  mutual  benefit  from  the 
establishment  of  trade  and  to  extend  the  influence  of 
Christian  civihzation. 

An  event  is  now  to  be  recorded  which  introduced  a 
new  factor  in  the  relations  of  the  United  States  with 
the  Orient  and  which  materially  affected  its  political 
and  commercial  conditions  and  changed  its  foreign  pol- 
icy. From  being  a distant  country  concerned  only 
in  unselfish  friendship  and  industrial  development,  it 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  became  sovereign  over  a 
numerous  Asiatic  people  and  possessed  of  an  extensive 
territorial  domain  in  that  quarter  of  the  globe  which 
was  to  be  defended  by  an  American  army  and  navy. 

The  war  with  Spain  in  1898  was  entered  upon  by  the 
government  and  people  of  the  United  States  with  no 


400 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


thought  of  territorial  acquisition  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  condition  of  the  island  of  Cuba  had  been  for  three 
quarters  of  a century  a source  of  embarrassment  and 
concern  to  them,  and  the  war  was  undertaken,  in  the 
language  of  President  McKinley  to  Congress,  to  re- 
lieve the  intolerable  condition  of  afPairs  which  is  at 
our  doors.’’  The  joint  resolution  of  Congress  of  April 
20,  1898,  which  was  virtually  the  declaration  of  war, 
announced  the  sole  purpose  to  be  the  expulsion  of  Spain 
from  Cuba  and  the  establishment  there  of  a free  and 
independent  government.  But  the  victory  of  Admiral 
Dewey  in  Manila  Bay  modified  all  these  plans.  The 
dispatch  of  his  squadron  to  the  PhiHppines  was  made 
necessary  by  the  exposure  of  American  commerce  in 
the  Orient  and  of  American  cities  and  towns  on  the 
Pacific  coast  to  the  reprisals  of  the  Spanish  fleet.  He 
fulfilled  his  orders  when  he  destroyed  that  fleet.  But 
there  was  not  a single  harbor  in  all  the  Asiatic  waters 
where  his  squadron  could  remain  in  time  of  war.  His 
only  course  was  to  continue  in  the  harbor  captured 
from  the  enemy  till  he  received  orders  from  his  govern- 
ment.^ 

The  close  of  the  war  found  the  Americans  in  posses- 
sion of  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  Manila  Bay.  The  dispo- 
sition of  these  conquests  presented  a serious  problem  to 
their  government. 

The  year  1852  saw  the  end  of  the  careers  of  the 

^ During  the  time  the  admiral  remained  in  Manila  Bay  he  added  to  his 
brilliant  achievement  of  arms  by  wise  conduct  in  his  relations  with  the 
commanders  of  foreign  squadrons  in  sympathy  with  the  defeated  foe,  thus 
showing  himself  worthy  to  be  ranked  with  Perry  and  Schufeldt  in  diplo- 
matic service  in  the  Orient. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


401 


triumvirate  of  great  statesmen  of  the  middle  period  of 
American  history,  Calhoun,  Clay,  and  Webster.  Henry 
Clay,  in  the  early  period  of  his  political  life,  was  chiefly 
instrumental  in  precipitating  war  with  England,  in  ex- 
pectation of  the  conquest  of  Canada ; and  he  devoted 
the  later  years  of  his  public  service  to  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  the  system  of  protection  out  of  which  has 
come  in  large  measure  the  present  power  and  prosperity 
of  the  nation.  W.  H.  Seward,  who  realized  more  clearly 
than  any  other  American  the  great  destiny  of  his 
country  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  standing  by  the  bier  of 
Clay  in  the  senate  chamber,  uttered  these  words,  which 
to-day  sound  like  the  inspiration  of  the  seer : — 

Certainly,  Sir,  the  great  lights  of  the  Senate  have 
set.  ...  We  are  rising  to  another  and  a more  sublime 
stage  of  national  progress — that  of  expanding  wealth 
and  rapid  territorial  aggrandizement.  Our  institutions 
throw  a broad  shadow  across  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
stretching  beyond  the  valley  of  Mexico,  reaches  even  to 
the  plains  of  Central  America ; while  the  Sandwich 
Islands  and  the  shores  of  China  recognize  its  renovating 
influence.  Wherever  that  influence  is  felt,  a desire  for 
protection  under  these  institutions  is  awakened.  Ex- 
pansion seems  to  be  regulated,  not  by  any  difficulties  of 
resistance,  hut  from  the  moderation  which  results  from 
our  own  internal  constitution.  No  one  knows  how 
rapidly  that  restraint  may  give  way.  Who  can  tell  how 
fast  or  how  far  it  ought  to  yield?  Commerce  has 
brought  the  ancient  continents  near  to  us,  and  cre- 
ated necessities  for  new  positions  — perhaps  connec- 
tions or  colonies  there.  . . . Even  prudence  will  soon 


402 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


be  required  to  decide  whether  distant  regions,  East  or 
West,  shall  come  under  our  protection,  or  be  left  to 
aggrandize  a rapidly  spreading  and  hostile  domain  of 
despotism.  Sir,  who  among  us  is  equal  to  these  mighty 
questions  ? I fear  there  is  no  one.”  ^ 

These  mighty  questions  ” confronted  President  Mc- 
Kinley at  the  close  of  the  Spanish  war.  It  was  a com- 
paratively easy  matter  to  decide  respecting  Cuba  and 
Porto  Rico,  but  the  disposition  of  the  Philippines  was  a 
much  more  difficult  problem.  The  country  had  already 
to  some  extent  entered  upon  territorial  acquisition  in 
the  Pacific.  The  right  to  the  occupation  of  the  island 
of  Tutuila,  in  the  Samoan  group,  with  the  commodious 
harbor  of  Pago  Pago,  had  been  acquired  years  before, 
and  the  Hawaiian  Islands  had  been  added  to  the  Ameri- 
can Union.  But  it  was  a long  stretch  across  the  Pacific 
to  the  southern  shores  of  China  and  Siam.  In  his  per- 
plexity as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued,  the  President 
caused  to  be  inserted  in  the  protocol  of  August  12, 
1898,  which  suspended  hostilities  and  formed  the  basis 
for  the  treaty  of  peace,  the  following  provision : — 

^^The  United  States  will  occupy  and  hold  the  city, 
bay  and  harbor  of  Manila,  pending  the  conclusion  of  a 
treaty  of  peace,  which  shall  determine  the  control,  dis- 
position and  government  of  the  Philippines.” 

While  the  protocol  provided  that  Spain  should  relin- 
quish its  sovereignty  over  Cuba,  and  that  it  should  cede 
to  the  United  States  Porto  Rico  and  other  islands  in 
the  West  Indies,  no  allusion  was  made  to  a change  of 

^ Obituary  Addresses  on  the  Death  of  Henry  Clay,  Washington,  1852, 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


403 


sovereignty  in  the  Philippines.  A careful  examination 
of  the  diplomatic  history  of  the  period  shows  that  the 
attitude  of  the  government  which  resulted  in  the  ac- 
quisition of  those  islands  passed  through  three  stages 
before  the  final  consummation.  In  the  first  stage  the 
President,  who  from  the  beginning  to  the  conclusion 
guided  the  negotiations,  was  not  in  favor  of  demanding 
the  sovereignty  and  possession  of  the  islands.  The 
language  of  the  protocol  sustains  this  view,  and  it  is 
confirmed  by  the  President’s  unofficial  declarations.^ 

A month  after  the  protocol  was  signed,  Messrs.  W.  R. 
Day,  C.  K.  Davis,  W.  P.  Frye,  George  Gray,  and  White- 
law  Reid  were  appointed  commissioners  to  negotiate  a 
treaty  of  peace ; and  three  days  afterwards  they  received 
their  instructions.  In  this  interval  the  President  had 
changed  his  attitude.  The  instructions  given  the  com- 
missioners say:  Without  any  original  thought  of 

complete  or  even  partial  acquisition,  the  presence  and 
success  of  our  arms  at  Manila  [which  had  been  surren- 
dered the  day  after  the  protocol  was  signed]  impose  upon 
us  obligations  which  we  cannot  disregard.  The  march 
of  events  rules  and  overrules  human  action.”  The  com- 
missioners were  directed  to  ask  for  the  cession  of  the 
island  of  Luzon,  and  for  reciprocal  commercial  privileges 
in  the  other  islands  of  the  Spanish  group. 

The  American  representatives  arrived  in  Paris  Sep- 
tember 28,  and  held  their  first  meeting  with  the  Spanish 

^ On  January,  1899,  President  McKinley  stated  to  Dr.  Schurman  that 
he  did  not  want  the  Philippine  Islands.  He  said  : “ In  the  protocol  to  the 
treaty  I left  myself  free  not  to  take  them  ; but  in  the  end  there  was  no 
alternative.”  Philippine  Affairs,  An  Address  by  J.  G.  Schurman,  New 
York,  1902,  p.  2. 


404  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

commissioners  October  1.  During  recess  between  con- 
ferences with  the  Spanish  negotiators,  and  before  the 
subject  of  the  Philippines  was  reached,  they  examined  a 
number  of  persons  more  or  less  informed  as  to  these 
islands,  including  General  Merritt,  commander  of  the 
American  army  at  Manila,  who  was  ordered  to  Paris 
to  advise  with  the  commissioners.  The  trend  of  the 
information  received  by  them  was  that  the  natives  were 
strongly  opposed  to  the  restoration  of  Spanish  author- 
ity ; that  its  rule  had  been  most  oppressive  and  cruel ; 
that  the  natives  were  not  capable  of  sustaining  an  inde- 
pendent government ; and  that  if  American  authority 
was  withdrawn  the  islands  would  fall  into  hopeless 
anarchy  and  misrule.  This  testimony  as  taken  was 
cabled  to  Washington.  On  October  25,  Mr.  Day  (late 
Secretary  of  State)  informed  the  President  that  there 
existed  differences  of  opinion  among  the  commission 
as  to  the  course  to  be  pursued,  and  asked  for  further 
instructions.  He  himself  doubted  the  wisdom  of  ex- 
tending American  sovereignty  over  the  Philippines,  but 
would  acquiesce  in  the  occupation  of  Luzon  as  a com- 
mercial base  and  a naval  station.  Senator  Gray  opposed 
the  taking  of  any  part  of  the  territory.  The  other  three 
commissioners  favored  a demand  for  the  cession  of  the 
entire  Philippine  group. 

Meanwhile  the  President  had  made  a visit  through 
the  States  of  the  central  West,  attended  several  peace 
jubilees,  and  returned  to  Washington  impressed  with 
the  popular  sentiment  apparently  favorable  to  the  acqui- 
sition of  all  the  Philippine  Islands ; and  on  October  26 
Secretary  Hay  cabled  the  commission  that  the  President 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


405 


was  convinced  that,  on  political,  commercial,  and  hu- 
manitarian grounds,  the  cession  must  be  of  the  whole 
archipelago.  He  ‘‘  is  deeply  sensible  of  the  grave  re- 
sponsibilities it  will  impose,”  but  he  believes  ^Hhis  course 
will  entail  less  trouble  than  any  other,  and  besides  will 
best  subserve  the  interests  of  the  people  involved,  for 
whose  welfare  we  cannot  escape  responsibility.” 

Thus  the  third  and  last  stage  in  the  attitude  of  the 
government  was  reached,  and  a proposition  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  Spanish  commissioners  for  the  cession  of 
the  Philippines,  and  the  payment  to  Spain  of  twenty 
millions  of  dollars.  The  Spanish  commissioners  pro- 
tested that  the  proposition  was  in  violation  of  the  peace 
protocol,  but  in  order  to  avoid  the  horrors  of  war,  they 
resigned  themselves  to  the  painful  strait  of  submitting 
to  the  law  of  the  victor ; ” and  the  treaty  of  peace  was 
signed  which  contained  the  cession  of  the  entire  Philip- 
pine group  to  the  United  States.^ 

Three  reasons  were  advanced  for  requiring  the  ces- 
sion of  the  Philippines,  based  upon  political,  commercial, 
and  moral  grounds. 

It  was  claimed  that  the  United  States  had  reached  a 
stage  in  its  history  where  it  should  no  longer  confine  its 
influences  to  the  western  hemisphere.  Modern  means 
of  communication  had  annihilated  distance,  so  that  the 
United  States  was  nearer  to  the  Philippines  than  it  was 
to  California  when  that  territory  was  acquired  from 

^ Peace  Protocol,  S.  Doc.  No.  62,  Pt.  i.  55th  Cong.  3d  Sess.  282  ; In- 
structions to  Peace  Commissioners,  S.  Doc.  148,  56th  Cong.  2d  Sess.  3 ; 
Negotiations,  Docs.  Nos.  62  and  148  (cited)  ; Treaty  of  Peace,  Doc.  No. 
62  (cited),  5. 


406 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Mexico.  The  Pacific  Ocean  had  become  the  area  of 
interest  to  the  civilized  world,  and  it  was  not  only 
proper,  but  essential  to  the  future  prosperity  of  the 
United  States  to  secure  a commanding  and  controlhng 
station  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Pacific. 

The  argument  for  a complete  cession  from  a commer- 
cial standpoint  was  that  the  recent  enormous  increase 
in  productiveness  of  American  industries  and  in  the 
export  trade  required  an  extension  of  markets  ; that  it 
was  impossible  to  enter  into  competition  with  European 
countries  without  following  their  methods  in  securing  a 
base  for  commercial  operations ; and  that,  although  the 
policy  of  the  United  States  was  “the  open  door,’’  this 
could  not  be  maintained  without  asserting  American 
political  power,  especially  in  the  part  of  the  world  where 
the  greatest  markets  were  situated. 

The  moral  grounds  for  the  possession  of  the  Philip- 
pines were  that  the  colonial  administration  of  Spain  had 
been  conducted  with  great  cruelty,  injustice,  and  in  dis- 
regard of  personal  rights;  that  it  would  be  inhuman 
and  morally  wrong  to  permit  Spain  to  retain  her  sover- 
eignty ; that  the  weakened  power  of  that  government 
would  be  unable  to  tranquillize  the  disordered  and  law- 
less conditions  existing  in  the  islands,  to  protect  fife  and 
property,  and  to  perform  the  obligations  incident  to 
government ; and  that  it  was  for  the  interest  of  the 
people  of  the  Philippines  in  particular,  and  mankind  in 
general,  to  extend  to  the  archipelago  the  principles  of 
civil  liberty,  equality,  and  self-government,  which  form 
the  basis  of  American  institutions,  and  that  to  do  so  was 
a duty  to  the  world  which  the  United  States  could  not 


THE  SPANISH  WAR;  ITS  RESULTS 


407 


rightfully  ignore.  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  utter- 
ances of  President  McKinley  during  and  following  the 
negotiations,  without  being  satisfied  that  these  latter 
considerations  exercised  a controlling  influence  with 
him  in  determining  the  destiny  of  the  islands. 

There  was  a large  party  in  the  United  States  which 
combated  all  these  reasons,  and  contended  that  the  ad- 
dition to  the  American  domain  of  distant  regions  and 
races  would  lead  to  hurtful  innovations  in  the  system  of 
government,  to  the  oppression  of  an  unwilling  people, 
to  a large  increase  in  the  standing  army  and  the  navy 
with  heavy  financial  burdens,  and  to  threatening  for- 
eign complications.  But  this  opposition  was  no  greater 
than  had  been  manifested  at  the  time  of  the  addition 
to  the  American  possessions  of  the  Louisiana  territory, 
Texas,  California,  and  Hawaii.  Since  the  beginning  of 
its  history,  every  step  taken  in  the  enlargement  of  the 
bounds  of  the  Union  had  been  popular  with  the  masses 
of  its  citizens,  had  resulted  in  increased  prosperity  to 
the  nation,  and  in  benefit  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
annexed  territory.  Such,  it  was  argued,  would  be  the 
result  as  to  the  new  possessions  in  the  Orient. 

Following  soon  after  the  acquisition  of  the  Philip- 
pines, and  while  the  government  of  the  United  States 
was  actively  engaged  in  restoring  order  and  establish- 
ing a stable  administration  in  its  new  possessions,  the 
mutterings  of  a storm  were  heard  in  China  which  threat- 
ened to  disorganize  the  government  of  that  country, 
to  paralyze  its  commerce,  and  to  put  in  peril  the  lives 
and  property  of  all  foreign  residents.  In  a few  months 
the  storm  broke  with  a violence  hitherto  unknown 


408  AMEKICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

in  that  land  of  riots  and  disorder.  The  civilized  world 
was  horrified  by  the  massacre  of  foreigners,  — men, 
women,  and  helpless  children,  — the  destruction  of  for- 
eign-built railways  and  property,  and  finally  by  the 
news  that  one  foreign  minister  had  been  murdered  in 
a street  of  the  capital,  and  that  all  the  other  diplomatic 
representatives  were  besieged  in  their  legations  and 
their  lives  threatened  by  a bloodthirsty  mob  which  had 
overawed  or  was  controlling  the  imperial  government. 
In  answer  to  the  urgent  call  which  came  from  the  be- 
leaguered diplomats  and  foreigners  resident  at  Peking, 
Tientsin,  and  other  places,  the  United  States,  within  a 
brief  space  was  able  from  its  forces  in  the  Philippines 
to  land  upon  Chinese  soil  a dmsion  of  its  army,  sup- 
ported by  a squadron  of  its  navy,  and  to  take  an 
important  and  honorable  part  in  the  rescue  of  its 
citizens  and  in  the  pacification  and  reorganization  of 
the  empire. 

The  so-called  Boxer  ” movement,  which  was  the 
occasion  of  these  troubles,  suddenly  dominated  several 
of  the  most  populous  provinces  and  the  imperial  capital, 
and  for  a time  threatened  to  carry  the  whole  nation 
with  it,  in  its  cry  for  the  expulsion  of  all  foreigners 
from  the  country.  Such  a widespread  and  powerful 
movement,  which  imposed  upon  the  United  States  and 
the  other  civilized  powers  the  task  of  readjusting  the 
foreign  and  domestic  relations  of  the  great  empire, 
demands  careful  consideration. 

China  has  been  described  as  honeycombed  with 
secret  societies.  The  / Ho  Tuan,  or  Boxers,”  va- 
riously translated  the  Sacred  Harmony  Fist,”  Fists 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


409 


of  Righteous  Harmony/’  or  The  Fist  of  Equality/’ 
had  existed  in  the  province  of  Shantung  for  many 
years,  and  so  long  ago  as  1803  it  had  been  prohibited 
by  the  government.  - It  seems  to  have  had  as  its  object 
mutual  benefit  and  support,  mixed  with  patriotic  and 
religious  ideas  and  the  practice  of  mysticism  and  magic. 
One  of  the  best  informed  writers  on  Chinese  affairs 
says  the  organization  remains  and  perhaps  will  con- 
tinue to  remain  to  a large  extent  a mystery  to  Occi- 
dentals.” The  events  following  the  war  with  Japan 
gave  to  it  increased  activity,  and,  instigated  and  sup- 
ported by  the  mandarins  and  literati,  it  rapidly  spread 
through  the  province.  With  the  cry  of  Drive  out  the 
foreigners  and  uphold  the  dynasty,”  it  entered  upon  its 
self-appointed  work  of  the  expulsion  of  all  foreigners 
from  China,  which  culminated  in  the  siege  of  the  lega- 
tions and  the  occupation  of  Peking  by  the  armies  of 
the  treaty  powers.^ 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  Boxer  ” uprising  was 
the  antipathy  to  foreigners  and  foreign  ways,  a feeling 
which  prevails  throughout  the  entire  population  of  the 
empire,  with  very  rare  exceptions.  The  foreigners  in 
China  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  — the  mis- 
sionaries, the  merchants,  and  the  public  officials  of 
other  nations ; and  the  lines  of  foreign  activity  are 
three,  — missionary,  commercial,  and  political. 

The  missionary  movement  in  the  interior  of  China 

' The  Boxer  Rising,  Shanghai  Mercury,  Shanghai,  1900 ; 1 China  in 
Convulsion,  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Smith,  New  York,  1901,  chaps,  x.-xiii.  ; The 
Siege  of  Peking,  by  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  New  York,  1900,  chap.  iv.  ; 
China  and  the  Powers,  by  H.  C.  Thompson,  London,  1902,  chaps,  i.  and 
xiii. ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1898,  China  ; S.  Ex.  Doc.  67,  67th  Cong.  1st  Sess.  75. 


410  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

did  not  really  begin  until  after  the  signing  of  the 
treaties  of  1858.  Some  work  had  been  done  previously 
by  the  Roman  Catholics,  but  without  security  and  pro- 
tection, and  by  the  Protestants  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
treaty  ports,  but  the  country  had  been  practically  closed 
to  Christianity  since  the  earliest  intercourse  with  Euro- 
peans. Francis  Xavier,  returning  from  his  successful 
labors  in  Japan,  landed  on  the  coast  of  China  in  1552 
and  found  it  hermetically  sealed  against  him.  His 
noble  soul  could  not  brook  the  restraint,  and  there  he 
died,  exclaiming,  Oh  ! rock,  rock,  when  wilt  thou 
open  ? ’’  By  the  American  and  British  treaties  of 
1858  religious  liberty  was  for  the  first  time  guaran- 
teed, and  by  the  French  treaty  the  missionaries  were 
permitted  to  acquire  land  and  erect  buildings  in  all 
the  provinces.  Since  that  date  Christianity  has  been 
extended  throughout  almost  all  parts  of  the  empire. 
There  are  now  in  the  field  about  eighteen  hundred 
Catholic  and  twenty-eight  hundred  Protestant  foreign 
missionaries,  and  the  converts  are  variously  estimated 
at  from  five  hundred  thousand  to  over  one  million. 

The  testimony  of  the  best  observers  is  that  the 
Chinese  are  not  inclined  to  religious  persecution,  and 
that  their  antipathy  to  the  missionaries  is  not  so  much 
on  account  of  their  religion  as  because  they  are  for- 
eigners and  their  presence  leads  to  the  introduction 
of  foreign  methods.  Nevertheless  the  propagation  of 
Christianity  has  been  attended  by  serious  opposition 
and  bloody  riots.  That  of  Tientsin  in  1870  has  already 
been  noticed.  The  years  1883-84  and  1891  were 
marked  by  violent  attacks  upon  the  missions,  and  that 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


411 


of  1895,  following  the  Japanese  war,  was  one  of  the 
most  serious  and  widespread,  until  all  former  ones  were 
surpassed  by  the  slaughter  of  1900. 

The  natural  hatred  of  foreigners  was  aggravated  by 
stories  emanating  from  the  gentry  and  literati,  circu- 
lated by  word  of  mouth,  by  placard  and  pamphlet, 
charging  the  missionaries  with  the  kidnapping  of  chil- 
dren, murder,  magic,  and  vile  deeds.  Besides,  the 
teaching  of  Christianity  tended  to  the  introduction  of 
ideas  hostile  to  the  existing  governmental  order  and 
struck  at  ancestor  worship.  The  missionaries  opposed 
such  native  customs  as  slavery,  concubinage,  support  of 
heathen  festivals,  and  foot-binding.  In  fact,  in  China, 
as  elsewhere  and  in  all  ages,  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity was  revolutionary.  Its  Founder  declared  that 
he  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a sword.’’  Paul,  the 
first  missionary,  when  he  declared  ^Hhe  Gospel  is  the 
power  of  God,”  used  the  Greek  word  which  has  been 
anglicized  to  designate  the  most  powerful  of  all  modern 
explosives,  dynamite.  If  the  introduction  of  Chris- 
tianity into  the  little  island  of  Britain  w^as  attended 
with  bloodshed  and  disorder  for  four  hundred  years,  it 
should  not  be  regarded  as  strange  that  in  the  mighty 
empire  of  the  East  its  propagation  has  been  marked  by 
civil  commotion. 

But  the  missionaries  were  not  merely  the  preachers 
of  a new  religion.  They  were  useful  to  the  govern- 
ment and  society  in  many  ways.  The  service  they 
have  rendered  in  diplomacy  has  already  been  referred 
to.  Everywhere  they  brought  the  benefits  of  educa- 
tion and  medicine  and  established  schools  and  hospitals. 


412 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


Minister  Denby,  who  from  his  long  official  residence  in 
China  was  the  most  competent  judge,  in  a dispatch  to 
the  Department  of  State,  said  of  the  missionaries,  that 
their  influence  is  beneficial  to  the  natives ; that  the 
arts  and  sciences  and  civilization  are  greatly  spread  by 
their  efforts;  that  many  useful  Western  books  are 
translated  by  them  into  Chinese  ; and  that  they  are  the 
leaders  in  all  charitable  work.  ...  In  the  interest, 
therefore,  of  civilization,  missionaries  ought  not  only 
to  be  tolerated,  but  ought  to  receive  protection.”  Their 
claim  to  protection  and  their  useful  service  to  China 
had  been  recognized  by  imperial  edicts,  but  these  could 
not,  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  change  their  character 
as  odious  foreigners.^ 

A careful  examination  will  show  that  missions  were 
far  from  being  the  chief  cause  of  the  disturbances  of 
1900.  From  the  foregoing  chapters  it  has  been  seen 
that  the  principal  object  of  securing  intercourse  with 
the  East  by  the  Christian  nations  has  been  the  intro- 
duction and  extension  of  commerce.  On  its  account 
China  had  time  and  again  suffered  war  and  great 
humiliation  at  the  hands  of  powerful  European  nations. 
The  unwelcome  traffic  in  opium  had  spread  its  baleful 
effects  throucrhout  the  whole  land.  The  establishment 

O 

of  fines  of  steamships  and  the  construction  of  railroads 

^ U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1880-1897,  China  ; Williams’s  Hist.  China,  420-437  ; 
Martin’s  Cathay,  Pt.  ii.  chap.  xv.  ; Thompson’s  China,  chaps,  xv.  and  xvi.; 
1 Smith’s  China,  etc.,  chaps,  iii.-vi.  ; China,  her  History,  Diplomacy, 
and  Commerce,  by  E.  H.  Parker,  London,  1901,  chap.  xv.  ; Missionary 
Principles  and  Practice,  by  Robt.  Speer,  New  York,  1902,  p.  173  ; Report 
on  China  Missions,  by  Rev.  A.  J.  Brown,  New  York,  1901,  pp.  16-23 ; 
U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1895,  p.  197  ; 1899,  pp.  154-178. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


413 


were  throwing  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Chinese  out 
of  employment.  The  growing  importation  of  Ameri- 
can and  British  cotton  fabrics  were  making  idle  looms 
and  untilled  cotton  fields.  American  kerosene  was 
destroying  the  husbandry  of  vegetable  oils.  And  in  an 
infinity  of  other  ways  was  Western  commerce  affecting 
the  domestic  industries,  and  this  with  a people  who 
were  intensely  conservative,  wedded  to  ancient  customs, 
and  inveterate  enemies  of  foreign  trade. 

The  construction  of  railroads  was  bitterly  opposed  by 
the  masses  of  the  people,  not  only  for  the  reasons  just 
stated,  but  because  it  disturbed  their  venerated  ances- 
tral worship.  Chinese  burial  places  are  not  segregated, 
but  are  found  all  over  the  face  of  the  country.  Their 
desecration  is  regarded  as  the  most  heinous  of  crimes. 
It  is  stated  that  the  Germans,  in  constructing  a line 
from  their  port  of  Kiaochau,  a distance  of  forty-six 
miles,  though  using  all  the  care  possible  to  pass  around 
the  most  thickly  located  burial  places,  had  to  remove 
no  less  than  three  thousand  graves.  It  is  not  strange 
to  learn  that  all  lines  of  railway  have  to  be  guarded  by 
soldiers. 

After  the  Japanese  war  a new  impetus  was  given  to 
commercial  enterprise.  Foreign  traders  as  well  as  mis- 
sionaries visited  the  interior,  and  the  Chinese  saw  their 
country  being  overrun  by  the  hated  people.  A scram- 
ble for  railroad  and  mining  concessions  followed,  sup- 
ported by  the  influence  of  the  representatives  of  the 
foreign  governments ; grants  were  made  to  Russians, 
French,  British,  Americans,  Belgians,  and  others ; and 
the  whole  territory  of  the  empire  seemed  destined  to  be 


414 


AIVIERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


ploughed  over  by  the  feared  and  hated  locomotive,  and 
the  most  profitable  enterprises  to  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  despised  foreigners.^ 

But  the  most  potent  cause  of  the  Boxer  movement 
was  neither  the  missions  nor  commerce,  hut  the  polit- 
ical influences  which  were  operating  for  the  dismem- 
berment and  destruction  of  the  empire.  These  influ- 
ences were  especially  manifest  during  1897  and  1898. 
The  cession  of  Formosa  to  Japan  in  1895  was  not  so 
offensive,  as  it  was  the  result  of  a great  war  and  some 
compensation  to  the  victor  in  territory  seemed  natural. 
But  the  effect  of  the  next  aggression  was  quite  differ- 
ent. Following  the  murder  of  two  German  CathoHc 
priests  by  a mob  in  Shantung  in  November,  1897,  the 
German  government  sent  a strong  naval  force  to  the 
spacious  harbor  of  Kiaochau,  ejected  the  Chinese  forces 
from  the  fortifications,  and  occupied  the  place  with 
marines.  This  was  soon  followed  by  the  demand  of 
the  German  minister  in  Peking  for  an  apology  for  the 
murder  of  the  priests,  a large  indemnity,  and  a lease  of 
the  harbor  and  an  adjoining  strip  of  territory,  with  the 
privilege  of  building  railroads  and  exploiting  mines  in 
the  province  of  Shantung.  The  remonstrances  of  the 
Tsung-li  Yamen  against  the  summary  method  of  pro- 
cedure and  the  exorbitant  demands  were  of  no  avail. 
The  German  seizure  of  Kiaochau  was  followed  a month 
later  by  the  occupation  of  Port  Arthur  by  a Russian 

^ The  Problem  in  China,  by  A.  R.  Colqiihoun,  London,  1900  ; 1 Smith’s 
China,  etc.  chap.  vii.  ; Douglass’s  China,  447  ; The  Story  of  the  Chinese 
Crisis,  by  A.  Krausse,  London,  1900,  p.  135  ; China  and  the  Powers,  by 
A.  Ireland,  Boston,  1902  ; Dr.  Brown’s  Report,  9-13  ; Gen.  Wilson’s 
China,  394  ; Speer’s  Missionary,  etc.  157,  161. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


415 


fleet,  and  in  March,  1898,  Russia  secured  a lease  of 
that  strong  fortress  and  harbor,  as  well  as  the  neigh- 
boring port  of  Talienwan,  in  the  peninsula  of  Liao- 
tung, with  the  privilege  of  connecting  them  by  railroad, 
through  Manchuria,  with  the  Siberian  trunk  line.  Only 
three  years  before,  Russia,  in  conjunction  with  its  ally 
France,  and  with  Germany,  had  compelled  Japan  to 
give  up  the  Liaotung  peninsula,  on  the  ground  that 
a nation  holding  it  might  at  any  time  threaten  Peking. 
The  action  of  Russia  led  Great  Britain  to  demand  and 
secure  the  lease  of  the  fortress  of  Wei-hai-wei  and  a 
strip  of  adjoining  territory  on  the  opposite  promontory. 
France,  which  had  some  years  before  taken  the  large 
suzerain  territory  of  Annam  and  Tonquin,  also  secured 
in  1898  an  enlargement  of  its  possessions  in  that  region 
at  the  expense  of  China. 

These  proceedings  were  followed  by  agreements  or 
treaties  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  and  between 
Germany  and  Great  Britain,  as  to  what  are  termed 

spheres  of  influence  ” in  China,  without  consulting 
the  government  of  that  country  or  taking  its  wishes  or 
interests  into  accoimt.  At  the  demand  of  the  same 
powers,  several  new  ports  were  opened  to  foreign  trade, 
with  the  usual  concomitants  of  foreign  territorial  con- 
cessions and  exterritorial  jurisdiction  ; until  now  the 
extensive  Chinese  Empire  is  reduced  to  the  anomalous 
condition  of  scarcely  possessing  a single  harbor  in  all 
its  long  line  of  seacoast  where  it  can  concentrate  its 
navy  and  establish  a base  of  warlike  operations,  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  treaty  powers.  Not  the  least  of 
the  irritants  which  induced  the  Boxer  movement  was 


416 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  foreign  authority  which  was  exercised  in  the  treaty 
ports,  and  the  abuse  and  contempt  with  which  the  na- 
tives were  there  treated.^ 

The  rulers  of  China  understood  full  well  the  causes 
which  had  nerved  their  people  to  rise  in  their  wrath 
and  undertake  the  impossible  task  of  the  expulsion  of 
the  foreigners.  In  1900,  after  the  Boxer  movement 
had  been  put  down,  Li  Hung  Chang,  in  giving  the 
cause  of  the  outbreak,  stated  that  its  chief  impetus  was 
to  be  found  in  the  high-handed  course  of  Germany,  and 
it  was  due  to  the  deep-seated  hatred  'of  the  Chinese 
people  towards  foreigners.  China  had  been  oppressed, 
trampled  upon,  coerced,  cajoled,  her  territory  taken, 
and  her  usages  flouted.’’  The  empress  dowager,  in  her 
famous  proclamation  issued  when  the  Boxers  were 
reaching  their  ascendancy,  and  just  before  the  violent 
outburst  of  1900,  exclaimed  : The  various  powers 

cast  upon  us  looks  of  tiger-like  voracity,  hustling  each 
other  in  their  endeavors  to  be  the  first  to  seize  upon 
our  inmost  territory.  They  think  that  China,  ha\dng 
neither  money  nor  troops,  would  never  venture  to  go 
to  war  with  them.  They  fail  to  understand,  however, 
that  there  are  some  things  which  this  empire  can  never 
consent  to,  and  that,  if  hard  pressed,  we  have  no  al- 
ternative but  to  rely  upon  the  justice  of  our  cause,  the 
knowledge  of  which  in  our  breasts  strengthens  our 

1 U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1898,  pp.  182-191  ; 1900,  p.  85  ; 1 Smith’s  China, 
etc.  chap.  viii.  ; The  Break-Up  of  China,  by  Lord  Charles  Beresford, 
New  York,  1899,  chap.  xxx.  ; Kransse’s  Chinese  Crisis,  143,  147  •*  China 
in  Transformation,  by  A.  R.  Colquhoun,  London,  1898,  chap.  xiv.  ; Es- 
says on  the  Chinese  Question,  by  Sir  R.  Hart,  London,  1901,  chap.  v.  ; 
World  Politics,  by  P.  S.  Reinsch,  New  York,  1900,  pts.  iii.  and  v. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


417 


resolve  and  steels  us  to  present  a united  front  against 
our  aggressors.” 

Under  the  state  of  affairs  thus  briefly  indicated,  the 
Boxers  soon  overran  Shantung,  spread  through  the 
adjoining  provinces,  and  were  threatening  the  imperial 
capital.  In  1898  the  Yellow  River  overflowed  its 
banks,  causing  widespread  misery,  and  in  1899  famine 
prevailed  in  the  near-by  province  of  Kiangsu,  and  bands 
of  robbers  and  lawless  men  added  to  the  general  dis- 
order. The  political  confusion  at  Peking  likewise  con- 
tributed to  the  prevailing  disorganization  of  the  country. 
While  the  mass  of  the  people,  including  the  ruling 
classes,  remained  fixed  in  their  conservative  views,  a 
considerable  body  of  intelligent  men  had  become  con- 
vinced that  China  must  follow  the  example  of,  Japan, 
and  align  itseff  with  the  W estern  nations  in  its  govern- 
ment and  social  institutions.  The  young  emperor,  who 
had  studied  English  and  read  numerous  translations  of 
Western  books,  including  the  Bible,  had  gathered  about 
him  a number  of  liberal  men,  who  realized  the  deplor- 
able condition  of  the  empire,  and  believed  it  could  be 
overcome  only  by  initiating  reforms  in  the  government. 
The  emperor  at  once  undertook  the  task,  and  over 
thirty  edicts  were  issued  in  quick  succession,  providing 
for  most  radical  reforms  in  the  administrative,  financial, 
and  educational  departments. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  a devoted  adherent  of  the  empress 
dowager,  not  being  in  accord  with  these  measures,  was 
relieved  from  his  post  in  the  Tsung-li  Yamen.  His 
rival,  Chang  Chih  Tung,  who  from  a bitter  foreign 
hater  had  become  a strong  advocate  of  liberal  ideas. 


418  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

had  written  a book  urging  radical  reforms,  and  by  an 
edict  of  the  emperor  this  book  was  printed  and  scat- 
tered broadcast  over  the  land.  The  emperor  and  his 
advisers  were,  however,  moving  too  fast.  The  conser- 
vative members  of  the  government  appealed  to  the 
empress  dowager,  who  had  a few  years  before  nominally 
withdrawn  from  participation  in  public  affairs,  and  she 
resolutely  seized  again  the  reins  of  government,  prac- 
tically dethroned  the  emperor,  and  proceeded  to  be- 
head, banish,  or  imprison  his  supporters,  his  chief 
adviser,  Kang  Yu  Wei,  however,  having  escaped  and 
fled  the  country.^ 

The  reform  movement  of  the  emperor,  which,  if 
carried  out,  might  have  restrained  foreign  aggression, 
thus  came  to  an  end,  and  the  government  continued  to 
endure  the  demands  of  the  foreigners,  and  its  conduct 
furnished  additional  incentive  for  the  growth  of  the 
Boxers.  Their  attitude  became  so  threatening  that  in 
November,  1898,  the  American  and  other  ministers 
asked  for  guards  to  protect  the  legations.  They  were 
sent  from  the  naval  vessels  at  Tientsin,  and  remained 
through  the  winter,  when  they  were  withdrawn.  The 
year  1899  was  not  marked  by  any  serious  outbreaks, 
though  the  Boxers  continued  to  extend  their  organiza- 
tion and  influence.  But  early  in  1900  their  movement 
assumed  a more  aggressive  character.  In  May  the 
foreign  ministers  addressed  the  Tsung-li  Yamen  asking 

^ Martin’s  Siege,  chaps,  ii.  and  iii.  ; China  from  Within,  by  S.  P.  Smith, 
London,  1901,  chaps,  ii.  and  iii.  ; 1 Smith’s  China,  etc.  chap.  ix.  ; Thomp- 
son’s China,  215  ; China’s  Only  Hope,  by  Chang  Chih-Tung,  New  York, 
1900  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1898,  pp.  219-221. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


419 


for  their  suppression,  but  the  same  month  the  railway 
stations  were  attacked  by  them,  and  legation  guards 
were  again  hastily  dispatched  from  Tientsin.  Scarcely 
had  they  arrived  when  the  railway  between  that  city 
and  Peking  was  seized  by  the  Boxers  June  4,  and  soon 
thereafter  all  telegraphic  communication  with  the  cap- 
ital ceased. 

Events  that  startled  the  world  followed  swiftly.  A 
column  of  naval  troops  were  marched  overland  to  open 
up  communication  with  the  legations,  and  military 
forces  were  hurried  forward  from  the  American  army 
in  the  Philippines,  and  by  the  other  treaty  powers  from 
the  nearest  foreign  posts.  The  Taku  forts  were  occu- 
pied by  the  allied  forces  after  a few  hours’  bombard- 
ment, — the  American  admiral  declining,  however,  to 
take  part  in  it,  as  he  held  it  to  be  an  act  of  war,  and 
his  instructions  were  to  use  his  forces  only  for  the  pro- 
tection of  American  interests ; but  it  proved  to  be  a 
wise  military  precaution,  as  the  Chinese  government 
was  then  under  the  control  of  the  Boxers,  and  its  forces 
were  cooperating  with  them  against  the  foreigners. 
Tientsin  was  attacked  by  the  Chinese  troops  in  large 
numbers,  and  the  foreign  residents  were  saved  from 
slaughter  only  by  the  timely  arrival  of  the  allied  forces. 
News  came  from  Peking  of  the  murder  of  the  German 
minister  and  the  siege  of  the  legations,  succeeded  by 
frightful  rumors  of  the  extermination  of  the  diplomatic 
corps  and  all  foreigners  in  the  capital. 

Then  followed  the  repulse  of  the  column  sent  to  the 
relief  of  the  legations,  their  long  and  heroic  siege,  the 
gathering  of  the  allied  army  at  Tientsin,  its  march  to 


420 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


the  capital,  the  deliverance  of  the  besieged,  and  the 
occupation  of  Peking.  It  is  not  possible  to  give  a 
detailed  narrative  these  events,  but  it  will  illustrate  the 
inveterate  and  all-embracing  hostility  of  the  Chinese 
to  note  the  experience  of  two  of  the  persons  who  un- 
derwent the  dangers  and  privations  of  the  siege.  Dr. 
W.  A.  P.  Martin,  an  American,  and  Sir  Robert  Hart, 
an  Englishman,  had  each  spent  more  than  fifty  years  in 
China,  the  greater  portion  of  this  time  in  the  service  of 
the  Chinese  government.  Martin  was  a scholar  of  rare 
attainments,  who  had  translated  various  works  on  inter- 
national law  and  kindred  topics  into  Chinese,  and  for 
many  years  had  presided  over  the  Imperial  University. 
He  was  pronounced  by  Minister  Denby  ‘‘  the  foremost 
American  in  China.”  Sir  Robert  Hart  had  taken  charge 
of  the  Chinese  customs  service,  brought  order  out  of 
confusion,  supplanted  wholesale  corruption  with  strict 
honesty  and  accountability ; had  from  insignificant  pro- 
portions made  its  resources  largely  support  the  govern- 
ment and  pay  its  foreign  indebtedness ; and  had  been 
the  trusted  and  able  adviser  of  the  cabinet  and  the  most 
useful  official  in  China.  But  when  the  storm  broke 
upon  the  capital  the  angry  mob  of  Boxers  and  soldiers, 
thirsting  for  the  blood  of  the  despised  foreigner,  as- 
saulted, plundered,  and  burned  to  ashes  the  residences  of 
those  two  public  servants,  Martin  and  Hart  escaping  only 
with  their  lives  and  the  clothes  on  their  backs  to  the 
legation  quarters.  All  their  services  to  the  government 
counted  as  nothing  with  the  infuriated  demons.' 

' For  military  operations,  Report  of  U.  S.  Secretary  of  Navy  for  1900, 
pp.  3,  1148  ; Lieutenant-General  Commanding  the  Army  of  U.  S.  1900, 


THE  SPANISH  WAR;  ITS  RESULTS  421 

In  the  massacres  and  plundering  which  attended  the 
uprising  of  1900  it  was  manifest  that  the  movement 
was  not  against  the  Christians,  or  any  other  special 
class,  but  against  all  foreigners  and  foreign  things. 
Missionaries,  railroad  constructors,  merchants,  teachers, 
and  diplomats  were  alike  the  victims,  and  foreign  pro- 
perty and  foreign-made  goods  in  the  hands  and  shops 
of  Chinese  were  destroyed. 

The  evidence  is  also  overwhelming  that  the  empress 
dowager  and  the  government  — as  reconstructed  after 
the  displacement  of  the  emperor  in  1898  — were  in 
sympathy  with  the  Boxers,  and  that  the  government 
finally  coalesced  with  them,  and  became  responsible  for 
the  attack  upon  Tientsin  and  the  siege  of  the  legations. 
There  is  reason,  however,  to  believe,  that  the  emperor 
did  not  approve  of  these  acts,  and  there  were  instances 
of  heroic  devotion  to  duty  and  the  true  interests  of  the 
country  on  the  part  of  some  members  of  the  Tsung-li 
Yamen  and  other  public  men.  The  native  Christians 
also,  as  a rule,  proved  true  to  their  new  faith,  and 
courageously  supported  their  foreign  friends  in  their 
hour  of  trial. 

The  dispatch  of  a division  of  the  American  army, 
composed  of  all  arms  of  the  service  and  fully  equipped 
for  a campaign,  was  one  of  the  most  extreme  acts  of 
executive  authority  in  the  history  of  the  United  States. 
It  has  been  seen  that  when  the  Secretary  of  State  was 
requested  by  the  representatives  of  Great  Britain  and 

pt.  vii.  ; ib.  for  1901,  pt.  iv.  p.  433  ; U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1900,  “ China  ” ; Gen- 
eral Wilson’s  China,  chaps,  xxii.-xxiv.  Most  of  the  works  already  cited 
in  this  chapter  contain  narratives  of  the  Boxer  operations  and  the  siege 
of  Peking. 


422  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

France  in  1857  to  cooperate  with  them  in  an  expedition 
to  Tientsin,  he  replied  that,  although  the  objects  sought 
to  be  gained  by  the  United  States  were  the  same  as 
those  entertained  by  the  alhes,  the  executive  branch  of 
the  government  was  not  the  war-making  power,  and 
that  military  expeditions  into  Chinese  territory  could 
not  be  undertaken  without  the  authority  of  Congress.' 
Doubtless  that  body  would  have  been  consulted  by  the 
President  had  it  been  in  session  when  the  crisis  came  in 
1900 ; but  the  emergency  was  great,  and  if  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  was  to  participate  in  the 
rehef  of  its  minister  and  citizens  besieged  at  Peking, 
no  time  was  to  be  lost.  Duty,  interest,  and  convenience 
called  for  the  immediate  transfer  to  China  of  a portion 
of  the  army  then  in  the  Philippines.  The  President 
acted  with  commendable  promptness,  and  the  American 
forces  were  enabled  to  bear  an  honorable  part  in  the 
campaign.  The  circumstances  which  called  for  the 
action  of  1900  were  quite  different  from  those  attend- 
ing the  expedition  of  1857.  In  the  latter  case  it  was  a 
dehberate  act  of  war  against  the  Chinese  government. 
In  1900  the  American  forces  were  sent  to  China  to 
protect  American  citizens  and  their  interests  in  extreme 
peril,  at  a time  when  the  authority  of  the  Chinese 
government  was  suspended  and  unable  to  afford  them 
protection.  There  are  many  such  precedents  in  Amer- 
ican history,  though  none  calling  for  such  a display 
of  military  force.  The  approval  which  the  President 
received  from  the  people  was  an  evidence  that  the  situ- 
ation justified  his  conduct. 

1 Supra,  p.  232. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


423 


The  main  object  of  the  military  operations  of  the 
allies  had  been  attained  by  the  deliverance  of  the  lega- 
tions ; but  it  was  manifest  that  the  work  of  the  powers 
would  not  be  complete  until  the  causes  which  had 
brought  about  the  unparalleled  outrage  against  the 
comity  of  nations  should  be  removed,  and  the  necessary 
precautions  taken  to  prevent  a recurrence  of  similar 
violations  in  the  future.  The  first  step  to  that  end 
had  been  taken  by  the  American  Secretary  of  State, 
Mr.  Hay,  soon  after  the  gravity  and  extent  of  the 
offense  against  international  law  and  comity  became 
known.  On  July  3,  1900,  Mr.  Hay,  through  a circular 
note,  communicated  to  the  allied  powers  the  views  and 
intentions  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  the  circum- 
stances at  that  date  would  permit.  It  was  declared  to 
be  the  purpose  of  its  government  to  act  concurrently 
with  the  other  powers  in  the  rescue  of  the  American 
officials  and  citizens  then  in  peril,  and  in  the  protection 
of  American  life  and  property  everywhere  in  China, 
and,  finally,  to  take  measures  to  prevent  a recurrence 
of  such  disasters.  In  attaining  this  last  result  it  would 
be  the  policy  of  the  United  States  to  seek  a solution 
which  might  bring  about  permanent  safety  and  peace 
to  China,  preserve  its  territorial  and  administrative 
entity,  protect  all  rights  guaranteed  by  treaty  and  inter- 
national law,  and  safeguard  for  the  world  the  principle 
of  equal  and  impartial  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  Chi- 
nese Empire. 

Although  this  policy  was  not  in  harmony  with  the 
recent  conduct  of  some  of  the  European  powers  in  their 
relations  with  China,  it  was  so  fully  consonant  with  the 


424 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


principles  of  international  justice  that  it  met  with  the 
approval  of  the  intelligent  public  sentiment  of  the  world. 
Through  the  long  and  tedious  negotiations  which  fol- 
lowed, this  policy  was  consistently  adhered  to  by  the 
American  representatives. 

For  several  weeks  no  communication  could  be  had 
with  the  American  minister,  Mr.  Conger,  and  it  was 
doubtful  whether  he  would  escape  with  his  life ; the 
Russian  and  Japanese  forces  were  pouring  into  China 
in  large  numbers  ; and  the  situation  with  respect  to  the 
allies  and  their  attitude  towards  China  was  uncertain. 
In  this  critical  period  the  President  felt  the  need  of  a 
representative  in  the  midst  of  the  scene  of  operations, 
possessed  of  his  views  and  in  direct  communication  with 
Washington.  He  therefore  appointed  as  a special  com- 
missioner Mr.  W.  W.  Rockhill,  formerly  secretary  of 
legation  in  China  and  lately  assistant  Secretary  of  State. 
On  his  arrival  at  Shanghai  the  alhed  army  was  in  occu- 
pation of  Peking,  Mr.  Conger  had  resumed  his  duties, 
and  was  in  free  communication  with  his  government. 
After  conferring  with  the  viceroys  of  the  Yang-tse- 
Kiang  provinces,  Mr.  Rockhill  went  to  Peking  and  was 
made  counselor  of  the  legation,  while  Mr.  Conger  was 
in  charge  of  the  negotiations. 

Before  the  siege  of  the  legations  had  been  raised,  no- 
tice was  given  that  Li  Hung  Chang  had  been  appointed 
a plenipotentiary  to  negotiate  a peace,  and  soon  after 
the  occupation  of  the  capital  by  the  allies.  Prince  Ching 
informed  the  representatives  of  the  powers  that  their 
majesties  the  empress  dowager  and  emperor  having  gone 
westward  on  a tour,”  he  had  been  nominated  with  Li 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


425 


Hung  Chang  to  open  negotiations  in  a harmonious 
way  at  an  early  date  to  the  interest  and  gratification  of 
all  concerned.”  Li,  however,  was  slow  in  arriving  at 
Peking,  and  it  was  not  until  October  26  that  the  pleni- 
potentiaries of  the  powers  and  of  China  met  and  the 
formal  negotiations  were  begun. 

Meanwhile  four  important  declarations  had  been 
made  which  had  done  much  to  bring  the  powers  into 
cordial  relations,  removing  suspicion  and  anxiety  as  to 
the  possible  action  of  any  one  power.  Of  these,  first 
in  date  and  importance  was  the  circular  note  of  Secre- 
tary Hay  of  July  3.  The  next  in  order  was  the  an- 
nouncement, August  28,  of  Russia,  that  it  had  no 
designs  of  territorial  acquisitions  in  China,”  and  that, 
since  the  Chinese  government  had  left  Peking,  there 
was  no  need  for  its  representative  to  remain,  that  its 
troops  would  be  withdrawn,  and  that  when  the  Chinese 
government  was  reestablished  Russia  would  appoint  a 
representative  to  negotiate  with  it.  To  this  annoimce- 
ment,  which  was  in  the  shape  of  a proposal,  the  United 
States  replied  that  it  did  not  deem  it  wise  for  the  troops 
to  be  withdrawn  until  there  was  a general  agreement 
by  the  powers. 

The  third  was  the  proposal  made,  September  18,  by 
Germany,  that,  as  a preliminary  to  peace,  China  should 
surrender  to  the  allies  for  punishment  the  leaders  of  the 
anti-foreign  movement  who  should  be  designated  by 
the  foreign  ministers.  The  reply  of  the  United  States 
was  that  it  would  be  far  more  effective  for  the  future  if 
the  Chinese  government  would  punish  the  guilty,  that 
it  was  but  just  to  give  China  in  the  first  instance  this 


426  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

opportunity  to  exhibit  her  justice  and  intentions,  and 
that  the  subject  could  be  included  in  the  negotiations 
if  afterwards  found  necessary.  It  may  be  remarked,  in 
this  connection,  that  the  United  States  took  no  part  in 
the  punitive  expeditions  by  the  forces  of  some  of  the 
European  powers  conducted  soon  after  the  capture  of 
Peking. 

Fourthly,  one  other  important  event  was  announced 
in  the  agreement  of  Great  Britain  and  Germany,  of 
October  16,  (1)  to  preserve  the  open  door  ” in  trade, 
and  (2)  to  take  no  advantage  of  the  existing  condi- 
tions to  acquire  territory ; but  (3)  reserving  the  right 
to  take  another  course  if  any  other  power  attempted  to 
violate  the  first  two  policies.  Secretary  Hay,  when  re- 
quested to  signify  his  acceptance  of  these  principles, 
replied  that  his  government,  in  the  note  of  July  3,  had 
already  announced  the  adoption  of  the  first  two,  and 
that  as  the  third  related  to  a reciprocal  arrangement 
between  the  two  contracting  parties,  the  United  States 
did  not  regard  itseH  as  called  upon  to  express  an  opin- 
ion upon  it. 

Before  the  first  formal  meeting  was  held,  France 
submitted  as  a basis  of  negotiations  six  propositions, 
which  were  substantially  agreed  upon  by  the  powers, 
and  briefly  stated  were  as  follows  : Punishment  of  the 
principal  guilty  parties  ; prohibition  of  the  importation 
of  firearms  ; indemnity  for  losses  ; permanent  legation 
guards  ; dismantling  of  the  Taku  forts ; and  estab- 
lishment of  foreign  military  posts  between  Peking  and 
the  sea. 

These  declarations  and  papers  had  made  the  task  of 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


427 


concurrence  in  the  general  principles  by  the  represent- 
atives of  the  powers  a comparatively  easy  one^  and 
within  less  than  one  month  they  reached  an  agreement 
on  the  essential  provisions  to  be  embodied  in  a treaty, 
but  some  delay  occurred  in  reconcihng  minor  differ- 
ences and  consulting  the  home  governments.  A ques- 
tion arose  as  to  the  form  in  which  the  demands  agreed 
upon  should  be  submitted  to  the  Chinese  plenipoten- 
tiaries, whether  in  separate  identic  notes,  or  in  a joint 
note  signed  by  the  representatives  of  all  the  powers. 
Although  the  United  States  does  not  ordinarily  favor 
joint  action  with  European  powers,  Mr.  Conger  advo- 
cated a joint  note  on  the  ground  that  the  question  was 
world-wide,  that  the  demands  should  be  strengthened  by 
unanimity,  and  that  it  would  hasten  final  settlement  by 
being  more  effective  than  identic  notes  ; and  that  course 
was  pursued,  and  the  note,  signed  by  all  the  represent- 
atives, was  delivered  to  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries 
December  24,  and  by  them  forwarded  to  the  court  with 
their  recommendation'  of  the  acceptance  of  its  terms. 

The  note  contained  twelve  demands,  which  may  be 
divided  into  the  four  heads:  (1)  punishment  of  the 
guilty  ; (2)  preventive  measures  for  the  future  ; (3)  in- 
demnification ; and  (4)  improvement  of  official  and 
commercial  relations.  On  January  16,  in  obedience  to 
an  imperial  edict,  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  gave 
notice  of  their  acceptance  of  the  twelve  demands,  but 
accompanied  it  with  a series  of  questions  and  sugges- 
tions looking  to  some  modifications  of  the  details. 

Mr.  Conger  had  conducted  the  negotiations  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States  to  a successful  conclusion  on 


428 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


all  the  essential  questions  involved,  and  as  the  discus- 
sion of  the  details  bid  fair  to  occupy  much  time,  he  was 
granted  by  the  government  a leave  of  absence  from  his 
post  to  visit  the  United  States.  He  had  well  earned 
a season  of  rest.  He  had  conducted  himself  durino^ 
the  trying  ordeal  of  the  siege  with  great  fortitude  and 
discretion,  and  in  the  negotiations  he  had  labored  in- 
defatigably  and  with  a good  degree  of  success  to  im- 
press upon  his  colleagues  the  liberal  and  reasonable 
attitude  of  his  government.  During  his  stay  in  the 
United  States  he  received  such  marks  of  favor  as 
indicated  that  his  services  were  highly  appreciated  by 
his  countrymen. 

By  appointment  of  the  President,  Mr.  Kockhill  suc- 
ceeded to  the  conduct  of  the  negotiations  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States.  The  two  most  important  points 
yet  remaining  for  adjustment  were  the  punishments  to 
be  inflicted  upon  the  leaders  in  the  anti-foreign  move- 
ment, and  the  amount  and  manner  of  payment  of  the 
indemnities.  While  the  negotiations  were  in  progress 
the  Chinese  government,  under  the  urgent  representa- 
tions of  the  foreign  ministers,  had  condemned  a num- 
ber of  high  officials,  some  of  whom  had  been  permitted 
to  commit  suicide,  and  others  had  been  banished  or  de- 
graded. But  the  ministers  were  not  satisfied  with  the 
sufficiency  of  this  action,  and  they  prepared  a list  of 
ten  other  officials  whose  execution  was  to  be  demanded, 
and  about  one  hundred  more  to  be  otherwise  punished. 
The  Russian  minister  objected  to  the  list,  and  Mr. 
Rockhill  strongly  seconded  him,  declaring  that  the 
effusion  of  blood  should  cease,  after  the  chief  culprits 


THE  SPANISH  WAR;  ITS  RESULTS 


429 


had  been  punished,  and  that  no  more  death  penalties 
should  be  exacted.  Through  their  influence,  and  that 
of  the  Japanese  minister,  the  death  penalties  were  con- 
fined to  four  others,  and  lesser  punishments  applied 
to  about  fifty. 

The  question  of  indemnity  was  even  more  difficult 
of  settlement  than  that  of  punishments,  for  in  it  a mea- 
sure of  cupidity  was  added  to  the  natural  feelings  of 
vengeance.  From  the  beginning  the  United  States 
had  favored  a lump  sum,  in  place  of  filing  itemized  in- 
dividual and  governmental  claims,  as  the  latter  would 
enormously  increase  the  aggregate  amount.  It  was 
with  difficulty  and  after  much  delay  that  this  point  was 
gained ; and  then  the  amount  of  this  lump  sum  was 
a still  more  debated  question.  Sir  Kobert  Hart,  who 
was  advising  both  the  Chinese  and  the  allies,  stated 
that  China  could  not  pay  more  than  $250,000,000  to 
$300,000,000.  Mr.  Rockhill  proposed  that  the  lump 
sum  should  not  exceed  China’s  ability  to  pay,  and 
that  the  powers  would  scale  down  their  claims  to  that 
amount;  that  it  should  be  divided  equitably  among  the 
powers ; and  that  if  they  could  not  agree  among  them- 
selves to  an  apportionment,  that  question  should  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Hague  Tribunal.  These  propositions  did 
not  meet  with  approval,  Russia  and  Japan  only  agreeing 
to  the  reference  to  The  Hague,  and  Japan  alone  sup- 
porting the  scaling  down  of  the  claims.  This  action 
was  the  more  significant  in  view  of  the  fact  that  of  the 
five  powers  principally  involved,  the  claim  of  the  United 
States  was  the  lowest,  and  that  of  Japan  next. 

The  amount  of  the  indemnity  to  be  paid  by  China 


430  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

was  finally  fixed  at  450,000,000  taels,  payable  in  gold 
at  the  rate  of  exchange  fixed  in  the  protocol,  with  in- 
terest at  four  per  centum,  in  annual  payments  covering 
thirty-nine  years.^ 

The  negotiations  on  the  details  had  dragged  along 
through  weary  months  and  the  protocol  or  peace  agree- 
ment was  not  signed  by  the  representatives  of  the 
powers  and  the  Chinese  plenipotentiaries  till  September 
7,  1901.  In  addition  to  the  subject  of  the  punish- 
ments and  indemnity  above  noticed,  the  following  were 
its  most  important  provisions : A special  embassy  to  be 
sent  to  Germany  to  convey  to  the  emperor  the  regret 
of  the  Chinese  government  for  the  death  of  Baron  von 
Ketteler,  the  German  minister,  and  a monument  with 
appropriate  inscription  to  be  erected  by  China  on  the 
spot  of  his  assassination ; similar  action  respecting  the 
assassination  of  the  chancellor  of  the  Japanese  lega- 
tion ; the  suspension  of  official  examinations  for  five 

^ The  claims  of  the  various  governments  were  as  follows  : — 


Country.  Taels. 

Germany 90,070,515 

Austria-Hungary 4,003,920 

Belgium 8,484,345 

Spain 135,315 

United  States *32,939,055 

France 70,878,240 

Portugal 92,250 

Great  Britain 50,712,795 

Italy 26,617,005 

Japan 34,793,100 

Netherlands 782,100 

Russia.... 130,371,120 

International  (Sweden  and  Norway,  $62,820) 212,490 


* The  equivalent  of  $24,168,367. 


450,000,000 


THE  SPANISH  WAR;  ITS  RESULTS 


431 


years  in  all  the  cities  where  foreigners  were  massacred 
or  cruelly  treated;  the  erection  by  China  of  expiatory 
monuments  in  all  foreign  cemeteries  which  had  been 
desecrated ; prohibition  of  the  importation  of  firearms 
for  two  years ; a quarter  of  Peking  set  aside  for  the 
legations,  with  the  right  to  maintain  foreign  guards ; the 
Taku  forts  to  be  razed ; certain  points,  named,  between 
the  capital  and  the  sea  to  be  occupied  by  foreign 
troops;  the  death  penalty  to  be  inflicted  on  all  who 
become  members  of  anti-foreign  societies ; viceroys  and 
all  subordinate  officials  to  be  dismissed  where  anti-for- 
eign riots  occur  and  the  authors  are  not  punished ; new 
treaties  of  commerce  to  be  negotiated,  and  the  river 
navigation  to  Tientsin  and  Shanghai  to  be  improved; 
the  Tsung-li-Yamen  abolished  and  succeeded  by  a new 
board,  the  Wai-wu  Pu,  which  should  take  precedence 
over  the  other  ministries ; and  a court  ceremonial  agreed 
upon  in  conformity  with  Western  usage.^ 

The  influence  of  the  United  States  was  plainly 
noticeable  throughout  the  negotiations,  especially  in  re- 
straining radical  measures  and  in  modifying  the  action 
respecting  the  indemnities.  While  it  supported  the 
efforts  to  punish  the  really  guilty  leaders,  and  was  firm  in 
demanding  measures  which  would  guarantee  the  protec- 
tion of  American  citizens  and  interests  for  the  future, 

1 For  negotiations,  U.  S.  For.  Rel.  1900,  pp.  285-382  ; Rockhill’s  Re- 
port, S.  Ex.  Doc.  67,  57th  Cong.  1st  Sess.,  published  also  as  appendix  to 
For.  Rel.  1901  ; Secretary  Hay’s  note,  July  3,  1900,  Rockhill’s  Report, 
12  ; Russia’s  announcement,  Aug.  28,  ib.  19  ; German  note,  Sept.  18,  ib. 
23  ; British-German  agreement,  Oct.  16,  ib.  31 ; French  basis  of  negotia- 
tions, Oct.  4,  ib.  26  ; joint  note  of  powers,  Dec.  22,  ib.  59  ; statement  of 
indemnities,  ib.  225  ; final  protocol,  ib.  312. 


432  AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 

it  manifested  anxiety  that  nothing  should  be  done  to 
cripple  or  impede  the  ability  of  China  in  the  mainte- 
nance of  a stable  government  and  its  territorial  integ- 
rity. Hence  it  was  necessary  to  continue  in  the  concert 
of  the  powers  and  as  far  as  possible  control  their  action 
to  that  end. 

Its  success  in  bringing  about  an  agreement  for  a 
lump  sum  for  indemnities,  to  be  apportioned  among  the 
nations,  was  of  vast  importance.  If  each  power  had 
acted  separately  respecting  the  indemnities,  the  one  pos- 
sible method  other  than  a loan,  which  would  have  im- 
posed foreign  management  of  the  revenues,  would  have 
been  the  occupation  of  sections  of  territory  by  the 
powers,  each  one  utilizing  its  own  sphere  as  a source 
of  revenue  in  payment  of  claims.  This  condition  once 
inaugurated  would  have  been  difficult  to  change. 

In  1899,  just  before  the  Boxer  outbreak.  Secretary 
Hay,  fearing  the  effects  which  might  result  to  Amer- 
ican commerce  from  the  apparent  intention  of  certain 
European  powers  to  appropriate  Chinese  territory  at 
will,  or  to  extend  over  it  their  spheres  of  influence,” 
addressed  the  governments  of  Great  Britain,  Germany, 
Russia,  France,  Italy,  and  Japan,  urging  that  it  was  to 
the  interest  of  the  world’s  commerce  that  the  govern- 
ment of  China  should  be  strengthened  and  its  integrity 
maintained,  and  submitting  for  their  assent  certain  prin- 
ciples which  should  be  respected  in  that  territory, 
whereby  that  populous  empire  should  remain  an  open 
market  for  the  world.  These  principles  were  accepted 
by  all  the  governments  named,  and  the  American  Secre- 
tary received  deserved  credit  among  aU  nations  for  his 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


433 


firm  and  timely  action.'  Doubtless  he  foresaw  during 
the  negotiations  that  unless  the  powers  could  be  held 
to  joint  action  in  accepting  the  lump  sum  in  settlement 
of  their  indemnity  claims,  his  policy  of  the  ^^open  door’’ 
would  have  been  placed  in  peril. 

Since  the  protocol  was  signed,  the  United  States  has 
had  another  opportunity  of  showing  its  consideration 
for  China  in  her  humiliation  and  financial  distress. 
During  the  year  1902  the  first  installment  on  the  in- 
demnities was  to  be  paid.  But  since  the  basis  of  settle- 
ment was  agreed  upon,  silver,  which  is  the  currency  of 
China,  has  greatly  fallen  in  value,  making  it  much 
more  onerous  to  meet  the  obligation.  China  appealed 
to  the  powers  to  allow  the  installment  to  be  paid  at  the 
rate  of  exchange  when  the  settlement  was  made,  and 
the  United  States  is  the  only  power  which  has  mani- 
fested a willingness  to  grant  the  appeal. 

The  conditions  imposed  upon  China  in  the  peace  pro- 
tocol would  seem  to  be  adequate  to  prevent  any  wide- 
spread anti-foreign  uprisings  in  the  future.  But  the 
hatred  of  the  stranger  still  prevails  throughout  the  em- 
pire, and  the  extortionate  spirit  of  the  powers  has  placed 
in  the  protocol  a provision  which  is  likely  to  prove  a 
continued  source  of  irritation  and  to  feed  the  flames  of 
discontent.  Against  the  remonstrance  of  the  United 
States  and  of  those  best  informed  as  to  the  financial 
ability  of  China,  a burden  of  indemnity  has  been  placed 
upon  the  government  which  it  will  be  very  difficult 
for  it  to  carry.  To  meet  this  obligation  additional 
taxes  must  be  laid  upon  the  people,  and  the  knowledge 
^ H.  Ex.  Doc.  647,  56th  Cong.  1st  Sess. 


434 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


that  this  imposition  is  for  the  benefit  of  the  despised 
foreigner  may  lead  to  disorder  and  repudiation ; and 
repudiation  will  raise  again  the  question  of  Chinese 
autonomy. 

So  long  as  race  hatred  controls  the  Chinese  people 
the  peace  of  the  world  will  be  in  danger,  as  the  destiny 
of  that  country  is  intimately  connected  with  the  inter- 
ests of  all  the  great  powers  of  the  earth;  and,  since  the 
acquisition  of  the  Philippines,  not  less  with  the  United 
States  than  the  most  interested  of  other  nations.  The 

yellow  peril  ” has  been  much  discussed  by  writers  and 
statesmen  who  have  studied  the  problems  of  the  Far 
East.  Since  the  Japanese  war  and  the  recent  easy 
march  of  the  alhed  forces  to  Peking,  the  tendency  has 
been  to  decry  and  scout  the  danger.  But  it  is  scarcely 
an  exaggeration,  in  presence  of  its  history  and  attain- 
ments, to  assert  that  no  nation  or  race  of  ancient  or 
modern  times  has  stronger  claim  than  the  Chinese  to  be 
called  a great  people.  The  fact  that  the  United  States 
has  been  compelled  to  violate  its  early  traditions  and 
much  vaunted  principles  in  the  exclusion  of  the  Chi- 
nese from  competition  with  its  own  people  is  a high 
testimony  to  their  race  capacity  and  endurance. 

Wensiang,  the  wisest  and  most  farseeing  Chinese 
statesman  of  modern  times,  was  accustomed  to  say  to 
foreign  diplomats  and  others  who  urged  speedy  re- 
forms : You  are  all  too  anxious  to  awake  us  and  start 

us  on  a new  road,  and  you  will  do  it ; but  you  will  all 
regret  it,  for,  once  awaking  and  started,  we  shall  go 
fast  and  far,  — farther  than  you  think,  much  faster 
than  you  want.”  Sir  Robert  Hart,  who  has  made  a 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


435 


study  of  Chinese  character  and  capacity  for  a half  cen- 
tury, believes  that  their  hatred  of  foreigners  is  a real 
menace  to  the  world,  not  in  this  generation,  perhaps, 
but  in  the  early  future  as  the  lifetime  of  nations  is  mea- 
sured. Four  hundred  millions,  sturdy  and  passionately 
devoted  to  their  ancient  customs,  might  in  time,  un- 
der the  influence  of  an  all-prevailing  race  hatred,  be 
changed  from  a peace-loving  community  into  a warlike 
people,  bent  upon  avenging  their  wrongs.  Sir  Robert 
suggests  only  two  remedies  for  this  impending  danger. 
The  first  is  partition  of  the  empire  among  the  great 
powers,  which  he  regards  as  full  of  difficulties;  the 
second,  a miraculous  spread  of  Christianity,  a not  im- 
possible, but  scarcely  to  be  hoped  for,  religious  triumph 
. . . which  would  convert  China  into  the  friendliest  of 
friendly  powers.”  ^ 

But  the  review  in  this  volume  of  the  diplomatic  rela- 
tions of  the  Orient  has  shown  that  another  local  power 
is  to  be  reckoned  with  in  considering  the  Asiatic  ques- 
tion. Japan’s  wonderful  development  in  industrial 
affairs  is  even  more  remarkable  than  its  display  of  mil- 
itary power.  Marquis  Ito  in  a late  publication,  after 
arraying  the  statistics  as  to  his  country’s  great  increase 
in  its  mercantile  marine,  its  manufactures,  and  its  for- 
eign commerce,  justly  claims  that  Japan  has  attained  a 
secure  position  commercially,  and  that  she  appreciates 
the  achievements  of  peace  as  thoroughly  as  achieve- 
ments by  force  of  arms.”  The  fact  that  it  has  within 
the  last  few  years  advanced  to  the  second  place  in  the 
trade  with  China  evinces  its  commercial  activity.  The 
1 Sir  Robert  Hart’s  Essays,  54-65. 


436 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


estimate  of  Japanese  statesmen  of  the  part  their  coun- 
try is  to  play  in  world  politics  may  be  seen  from  the 
utterance  of  Count  Okuma,  former  prime  minister, 
anticipating  the  revision  of  the  treaties  and  the  triumph 
over  China,  — ^^We  should  become  one  of  the  chief 
powers  of  the  world,  and  no  power  could  engage  in 
any  movement  [in  Asia]  without  first  consulting  us.” 
Such  language  hardly  appears  exaggerated,  in  view  of 
the  late  treaty  of  alliance  between  Great  Britain  and 
Japan 

The  power  most  greatly  feared  by  China  and  Japan, 
and  the  one  whose  vast  territorial  possessions  in  Asia 
entitle  it  to  the  first  consideration  in  the  affairs  of  that 
continent,  is  Eussia.  Its  system  of  government  is  the 
antipodes  of  that  of  the  United  States  and  its  repres- 
sion of  missions  is  out  of  harmony  with  the  hopes  of  a 
large  majority  of  the  American  people,  but  in  their 
political  relations  the  two  governments  have  always 
maintained  a cordial  friendship,  and  if  the  principle  of 
the  open  door  ” is  respected,  there  does  not  appear  to 
be  any  reason  why  in  Asiatic  affairs  they  should  not 
so  continue. 

The  other  great  power  in  the  Pacific  whose  policy 
is  of  concern  to  the  United  States  is  Great  Britain. 
There  has  been  occasion  in  these  pages  to  animadvert 
upon  the  conduct  of  its  government,  but  it  is  due  to  it 
to  say  that,  however  dictatorial  and  aggressive  has 
been  its  course  towards  the  Eastern  countries,  it  has 
reserved  to  itself  no  selfish  or  exclusive  privileges,  but 

^ The  Commercial  Future  of  Japan,  by  Marquis  Ito,  N.  Y.  Independ- 
ent, February  20,  1902  ; Norman’s  Far  East,  392. 


THE  SPANISH  WAR:  ITS  RESULTS 


437 


has  extended  to  all  other  nations  the  right  of  trade 
and  residence  gained  for  its  own  subjects.  Wherever 
in  the  Orient  its  authority  has  gone  there  has  been  in- 
troduced impartial  administration  of  justice  and  honest 
taxation,  conditions  unknown  under  native  government ; 
and  the  influence  of  its  administration  is  to  elevate 
the  intellectual  condition  and  the  morals  of  the  people. 
With  a similarity  of  institutions,  a common  origin  and 
language,  and  a community  of  trade  interest  in  the 
East,  the  two  governments  are  naturally  inclined  to 
cooperation.  Neither  do  the  Americans  forget  that 
when  the  other  European  powers  were  indifferent  or 
unfriendly  during  the  war  that  transferred  the  Philip- 
pines to  the  United  States,  Great  Britain  alone  was 
outspoken  in  its  sympathy,  and  looked  with  compla- 
cency upon  the  enlargement  of  Anglo-Saxon  influence 
in  that  quarter  of  the  globe.  A political  alliance  of 
the  two  nations  in  Asiatic  affairs  is  not  probable,  but 
they  are  likely  to  be  found  working  together  to  main- 
tain that  which  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  United 
States,  free  markets  in  those  countries. 

Mr.  Seward’s  prophecy  of  the  growing  importance 
of  the  Pacific  and  of  America’s  expansion  to  those  dis- 
tant regions  has  become  history  much  sooner  than  he 
or  any  American  statesman  foresaw.  It  has  brought 
with  it  much  governmental  embarrassment  and  great 
responsibilities.  But  the  hopeful  citizen  must  believe 
that  the  system  of  government  and  the  wisdom  of  its 
public  men  will  be  equal  to  the  emergency  and  the 
responsibilities.  It  is  a matter  of  pride  and  of  con- 
fidence for  the  future  to  be  assured  that  the  conduct 


438 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY  IN  THE  ORIENT 


and  policy  of  the  government,  from  the  beginning  of 
its  history,  in  its  relations  with  the  Orient  have  been 
marked  by  a spirit  of  justice,  forbearance,  and  magna- 
nimity. Its  early  and  its  later  intercourse  with  China, 
Japan,  and  Korea  has  been  that  of  a friend  interested 
for  their  welfare,  ready  to  aid  them  in  their  efforts  to 
attain  an  honorable  place  among  the  nations,  and  will- 
ing to  recognize  the  embarrassments  which  attended 
those  efforts. 

With  the  acquisition  of  the  Philippines,  whether 
wisely  or  unwisely  done,  the  United  States  has  assumed 
towards  those  countries  the  new  and  additional  relation 
of  a neighbor.  The  enormous  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  United  States  and  the  increased  neces- 
sity for  foreign  markets  have  strengthened  the  reasons 
which  have  controlled  its  policy  in  the  past,  and  the 
proximity  of  its  new  possessions,  with  their  millions  of 
inhabitants,  has  brought  it  nearer  than  ever  in  sym- 
pathy to  these  peoples  and  their  governments.  The 
American  Union  has  become  an  Asiatic  power.  It  has 
new  duties  to  discharge  and  enlarged  interests  to  pro- 
tect. But  its  record  of  a hundred  years  of  honorable 
intercourse  with  that  region  will  be  a safe  guide  for  the 
conduct  of  affairs.  Its  task  will  be  well  done  if  it  shall 
aid  in  giving  to  the  world  a freer  market,  and  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Orient  the  blessings  of  Christian 
civilization. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


A PROTOCOL  BETWEEN  CHINA  AND  THE  TREATY 
POWERS,  SEPTEMBER  7,  1901. 

The  plenipotentiaries  of  Germany,  His  Excellency  M.  A.  Munn 
von  Schwarzen stein ; of  Austria-Hungary,  His  Excellency  M.  M. 
Czikann  von  Wahlborn  ; of  Belgium,  His  Excellency  M.  Joostens ; 
of  Spain,  M.  B.  J.  de  Cologan  ; of  the  United  States,  His  Excellency 
M.  W.  W.  Rockhill ; of  France,  His  Excellency  M.  Paul  Beau ; of 
Great  Britain,  His  Excellency  Sir  Ernest  Satow ; of  Italy,  Marquis 
Salvago  Raggi ; of  Japan,  His  Excellency  M.  Jutaro  Komura ; of 
the  Netherlands,  His  Excellency  M.  F.  M.  Knobel ; of  Russia,  His 
Excellency  M.  M.  de  Giers  ; and  of  China,  His  Highness  Yi-K’uang 
Prince  Ching  of  the  first  rank,  President  of  the  Ministry  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  His  Excellency  Li  Hung-chang,  Earl  of  Su-i  of  the  first 
rank.  Tutor  of  the  Heir  Apparent,  Grand  Secretary  of  the  Wen-hua 
Throne  Hall,  Minister  of  commerce.  Superintendent  of  the  northern 
trade,  Governor-General  of  Chihli,  have  met  for  the  purpose  of 
declaring  that  China  has  complied  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Powers 
with  the  conditions  laid  down  in  the  note  of  the  22d  of  December, 
1900,  and  which  were  accepted  in  their  entirety  by  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  China  in  a decree  dated  the  27th  of  December. 

Article  P. 

By  an  Imperial  Edict  of  the  9th  of  June  last,  Tsai  Feng,  Prince 
of  Ch’un,  was  appointed  Ambassador  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor 
of  China,  and  directed  in  that  capacity  to  convey  to  His  Majesty  the 
German  Emperor  the  expression  of  the  regrets  of  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  China  and  of  the  Chinese  Government  for  the  assassina- 


442  APPENDIX 

tion  of  His  Excellency  the  late  Baron  von  Ketteler,  German  min- 
ister. 

Prince  Ch’tin  left  Peking  the  12th  of  July  last  to  carry  out  the 
orders  which  had  been  given  him. 

Article 

The  Chinese  Government  has  stated  that  it  will  erect  on  the  spot 
of  the  assassination  of  His  Excellency  the  late  Baron  von  Ketteler  a 
commemorative  monument,  worthy  of  the  rank  of  the  deceased,  and 
bearing  an  inscription  in  the  Latin,  German,  and  Chinese  languages, 
which  shall  express  the  regrets  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China 
for  the  murder  committed.  ’ 

Their  Excellencies  the  Chinese  Plenipotentiaries  have  informed 
His  Excellency  the  German  Plenipotentiary,  in  a letter  dated  the 
22d  of  July  last,  that  an  arch  of  the  whole  width  of  the  street 
would  be  erected  on  the  said  spot,  and  that  work  on  it  was  begun 
the  25th  of  June  last.  ^ 

Article  II^. 

Imperial  Edicts  of  the  13th  and  21st  of  February,  1901,  inflicted 
the  following  punishments  on  the  principal  authors  of  the  outrages 
and  crimes  committed  against  the  foreign  Governments  and  their 
nationals : 

Tsai-I  Prince  Tuan  and  Tsai  Lan  Duke  Fu-kuo  were  sentenced 
to  be  brought  before  the  autumnal  court  of  assize  for  execution,  and 
it  was  agreed  Jhat  if  the  Emperor  saw  fit  to  grant  them  their  lives, 
they  should  be  exiled  to  Turkestan  and  there  imprisoned  for  life, 
without  the  possibility  of  commutation  of  these  punishments. 

Tsai  Hsiin  Prince  Chuang,  Ying  Nien,  President  of  the  Court  of 
censors,  and  Chao  Shu-Chiao,  President  of  the  Board  of  punish- 
ments, were  condemned  to  commit  suicide. 

Yu  Hsien,  Governor  of  Shanhsi,  Chi  Hsiu,  President  of  the  Board 
of  rites,  and  HsU  Cheng-yu,  formerly  senior  vice-President  of  the 
Board  of  punishments,  were  condemned  to  death. 

Posthumous  degradation  was  inflicted  on  Kang  Yi,  assistant  Grand 
Secretary,  President  of  the  Board  of  works,  HsU  Tung,  Grand  Secre- 
tary, and  Li  Ping-heng,  formerly  Governor-General  of  Szu-ch’uan. 


APPENDIX 


443 


An  Imperial  Edict  of  February  13th,  1901,  rehabilitated  the 
memories  of  Hsii  Yung-yi,  President  of  the  Board  of  war,  Li  Shan, 
President  of  the  Board  of  works,  HsU  Ching-cheng,  senior  vice- 
President  of  the  Board  of  works.  Lien  Yuan,  vice-Chancellor  of  the 
Grand  Council,  and  Yuan  Chang,  vice-President  of  the  Court  of 
sacrifices,  who  had  been  put  to  death  for  having  protested  against 
the  outrageous  breaches  of  international  law  of  last  year. 

Prince  Chuang  committed  suicide  the  21st  of  February,  1901, 
Ying  Nien  and  Chao  Shu-chiao  the  24th,  Yu  Hsien  was  executed  the 
22d,  Chi  Hsiu  and  Hsii  Cheng-yu  on  the  26th.  Tung  Fu-hsiang, 
General  in  Kan-su,  has  been  deprived  of  his  office  by  Imperial  Edict 
of  the  13th  of  February,  1901,  pending  the  determination  of  the 
final  punishment  to  be  inflicted  on  him. 

Imperial  Edicts  dated  the  29th  of  April  and  19th  of  August, 
1901,  have  inflicted  various  punishments  on  the  provincial  officials 
convicted  of  the  crimes  and  outrages  of  last  summer. 

Article  IP. 

An  Imperial  Edict  promulgated  the  19th  of  August,  1901,  ordered 
the  suspension  of  official  examinations ' for  five  years  in  all  cities 
where  foreigners  were  massacred  or  submitted  to  cruel  treatment. 

Article  III. 

So  as  to  make  honorable  reparation  for  the  assassination  of  Mr. 
Sugiyama,  chancellor  of  the  Japanese  legation.  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  China  by  an  Imperial  Edict  of  the  18th  of  June,  1901, 
appointed  Na  Tung,  vice-President  of  the  Board  of  revenue,  to  be 
his  Envoy  Extraordinary,  and  specially  directed  him  to  convey  to 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan  the  expression  of  the  regrets  of 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China  and  of  his  Government  at  the 
assassination  of  the  late  Mr.  Sugiyama. 

Article  IV. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  agreed  to  erect  an  expiatory  monu- 
ment in  each  of  the  foreign  or  international  cemeteries  which  were 
desecrated  and  in  which  the  tombs  were  destroyed. 

It  has  been  agreed  with  the  Representatives  of  the  Powers  that 


444 


APPENDIX 


the  legations  interested  shall  settle  the  details  for  the  erection  of 
these  monuments,  China  bearing  all  the  expenses  thereof,  estimated 
at  ten  thousand  taels  for  the  cemeteries  at  Peking  and  within  its 
neighborhood,  and  at  five  thousand  taels  for  the  cemeteries  in  the 
provinces.  The  amounts  have  been  paid  and  the  list  of  these 
cemeteries  is  enclosed  herewith. 

Article  V. 

China  has  agreed  to  prohibit  the  importation  into  its  territory  of 
arms  and  ammunition,  as  well  as  of  materials  exclusively  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  arms  and  ammunition. 

An  Imperial  Edict  has  been  issued  on  the  25th  of  August,  1901, 
forbidding  said  importation  for  a term  of  two  years.  New  Edicts 
may  be  issued  subsequently  extending  this  by  other  successive  terms 
of  two  years  in  case  of  necessity  recognized  by  the  Powers. 

Article  VI.  v 

By  an  Imperial  Edict  dated  the  29th  of  May,  1901,  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  of  China  agi'eed  to  pay  the  Powers  an  indemnity  of 
four  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  Haikwan  Taels.  This  sum  repre- 
sents the  total  amount  of  the  indemnities  for  States,  companies  or 
societies,  private  individuals,  and  Chinese  referred  to  in  Article  VI 
of  the  note  of  December  22d,  1900. 

{a)  These  four  hundred  and  fifty  millions  constitute  a gold  debt 
calculated  at  the  rate  of  the  Haikwan  tael  to  the  gold  currency  of 
each  country,  as  indicated  below. 


Haikwan  tael  = marks 3.055 

= Austro-Hungary  crown 3.595 

= gold  dollar 0.742 

= francs 3 750 

= pound  sterling 3s.  Od. 

= yen  .........  1.407 

= Netherlands  florin 1.796 

= gold  rouble  (17.424  dolias  fine)  ....  1.412 


This  sum  in  gold  shall  bear  interest  at  4 per  cent,  per  annum,  and 
the  capital  shall  be  reimbursed  by  China  in  thirty-nine  years  in  the 
manner  indicated  in  the  annexed  plan  of  amortization. 


APPENDIX 


445 


Capital  and  interest  shall  be  payable  in  gold  or  at  the  rates  of 
exchange  corresponding  to  the  dates  at  which  the  different  payments 
fall  due. 

The  amortization  shall  commence  the  1st  of  January,  1902,  and 
shall  finish  at  the  end  of  the  year  1940.  The  amortizations  are 
payable  annually,  the  first  payment  being  fixed  on  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary, 1903. 

Interest  shall  run  from  the  1st  of  July,  1901,  but  the  Chinese 
Government  shall  have  the  right  to  pay  off  within  a term  of  three 
years,  beginning  January,  1902,  the  arrears  of  the  first  six  months, 
ending  the  31st  of  December,  1901,  on  condition,  however,  that  it 
pays  compound  interest  at  the  rate  of  4 per  cent,  per  annum  on  the 
sums  the  payments  of  which  shall  have  thus  been  deferred.  In- 
terest shall  be  payable  semiannually,  the  first  payment  being  fixed 
on  the  1st  of  July,  1902. 

(b)  The  service  of  the  debt  shall  take  place  in  Shanghai,  in  the 
following  manner : 

Each  Power  shall  be  represented  by  a delegate  on  a commission 
of  bankers  authorized  to  receive  the  amount  of  interest  and  amorti- 
zation which  shall  be  paid  to  it  by  the  Chinese  authorities  desig- 
nated for  that  purpose,  to  divide  it  among  the  interested  parties,  and 
to  give  a receipt  for  the  same. 

(c)  The  Chinese  Government  shall  deliver  to  the  Doyen  of  the 
Diplomatic  Corps  at  Peking  a bond  for  the  lump  sum,  which  shall 
subsequently  be  converted  into  fractional  bonds  bearing  the  signa- 
tures of  the  delegates  of  the  Chinese  Government  designated  for 
that  purpose.  This  operation  and  all  those  relating  to  issuing  of 
the  bonds  shall  be  performed  by  the  above-mentioned  Commission, 
in  accordance  with  the  instructions  which  the  Powers  shall  send 
their  delegates. 

(d)  The  proceeds  of  the  revenues  assigned  to  the  payment  of  the 
bonds  shall  be  paid  monthly  to  the  Commission. 

(e)  The  revenues  assigned  as  security  for  the  bonds  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

1.  The  balance  of  the  revenues  of  the  Imperial  maritime  Customs 
after  payment  of  the  interest  and  amortization  of  preceding  loans 
secured  on  these  revenues,  plus  the  proceeds  of  the  raising  to  five 


446 


APPENDIX 


per  cent,  effective  of  the  present  tariff  on  maritime  imports,  includ- 
ing articles  until  now  on  the  free  list,  but  exempting  foreign  rice, 
cereals,  and  flour,  gold  and  silver  bullion  and  coin. 

2.  The  revenues  of  the  native  customs,  administered  in  the  open 
ports  by  the  Imperial  maritime  Customs. 

3.  The  total  revenues  of  the  salt  gabelle,  exclusive  of  the  fraction 
previously  set  aside  for  other  foreign  loans. 

The  raising  of  the  present  tariff  on  imports  to  five  per  cent,  effec- 
tive is  agreed  to  on  the  conditions  mentioned  below. 

It  shall  be  put  in  force  two  months  after  the  signing  of  the 
present  protocol,  and  no  exceptions  shall  be  made  except  for  mer- 
chandise shipped  not  more  than  ten  days  after  the  said  signing. 

1°.  All  duties  levied  on  imports  “ ad  valorem  ” shall  be  converted 
as  far  as  possible  and  as  soon  as  may  be  into  specific  duties.  This 
conversion  shall  be  made  in  the  following  manner : The  average 
value  of  merchandise  at  the  time  of  their  landing  during  the  three 
years  1897,  1898,  and  1899,  that  is  to  say,  the  market  price  less  the 
amount  of  import  duties  and  incidental  expenses,  shall  be  taken  as 
the  basis  for  the  valuation  of  merchandise.  Pending  the  result  of 
the  work  of  conversion,  duties  shall  be  levied  “ ad  valorem.” 

2°.  The  beds  of  the  rivers  Peiho  and  Whangpu  shall  be  improved 
with  the  financial  participation  of  China. 

Article  VII. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  agreed  that  the  quarter  occupied  by 
the  legations  shall  be  considered  as  one  specially  reserved  for  their 
use  and  placed  under  their  exclusive  control,  in  which  Chinese  shall 
not  have  the  right  to  reside,  and  which  may  be  made  defensible. 

The  limits  of  this  quarter  have  been  fixed  as  follows  on  the  an- 
nexed plan : 

On  the  west,  the  line  1,  2,  3,  4,  5. 

On  the  north,  the  line  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10. 

On  the  east,  Ketteler  street  (10,  11,  12). 

Drawn  along  the  exterior  base  of  the  Tartar  wall  and  following 
the  line  of  the  bastions,  on  the  south  the  line  12.1. 

In  the  protocol  annexed  to  the  letter  of  the  16th  of  January, 
1901,  China  recognized  the  right  of  each  Power  to  maintain  a per- 
manent guard  in  the  said  quarter  for  the  defense  of  its  legation. 


APPENDIX 


447 


Article  VIII. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  consented  to  raze  the  forts  of  Taku 
and  those  which  might  impede  free  communication  between  Peking 
and  the  sea ; steps  have  been  taken  for  carrying  this  out. 

Article  IX. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  conceded  the  right  to  the  Powers 
in  the  protocol  annexed  to  the  letter  of  the  16th  of  January,  1901, 
to  occupy  certain  points,  to  be  determined  by  an  agreement  between 
them,  for  the  maintenance  of  open  communication  between  the  cap- 
ital and  the  sea.  The  points  occupied  by  the  Powers  are : 

Huang-tsun,  Lang-fang,  Yang-tsun,  Tientsin,  Chun-liang  Ch’eng, 
Tang-ku,  Lu-tai,  Tang-shan,  Lan-chou,  Chang-li,  Ch’in-wang  tao, 
Shan-hai  kuan. 

Article  X. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  agreed  to  post  and  to  have  pub- 
lished during  two  years  in  all  district  cities  the  following  Imperial 
edicts : 

{a)  Edict  of  the  1st  of  February,  prohibiting  forever,  under  pain 
of  death,  membership  in  any  antiforeign  society. 

(h)  Edicts  of  the  13th  and  21st  February,  29th  April,  and  19th 
August,  enumerating  the  punishments  inflicted  on  the  guilty. 

(c)  Edict  of  the  19th  August,  1901,  prohibiting  examinations  in 
all  cities  where  foreigners  were  massacred  or  subjected  to  cruel 
treatment. 

{d)  Edict  of  the  1st  of  February,  1901,  declaring  all  governors- 
general,  governors,  and  provincial  or  local  officials  responsible  for 
order  in  their  respective  districts,  and  that  in  case  of  new  anti- 
foreign troubles  or  other  infractions  of  the  treaties  which  shall  not 
be  immediately  repressed,  and  the  authors  of  which  shall  not  have 
been  punished,  these  officials  shall  be  immediately  dismissed,  with- 
out possibility  of  being  given  new  functions  or  new  honors. 

The  posting  of  these  edicts  is  being  carried  on  throughout  the 
Empire. 

Article  XI. 

The  Chinese  Government  has  agreed  to  negotiate  the  amend- 
ments deemed  necessary  by  the  foreign  Governments  to  the  treaties 


448 


APPENDIX 


of  commerce  and  navigation  and  the  other  subjects  concerning  com- 
mercial relations,  with  the  object  of  facilitating  them. 

At  present,  and  as  a result  of  the  stipulation  contained  in  Article 
VI  concerning  the  indemnity,  the  Chinese  Government  agrees  to 
assist  in  the  improvement  of  the  courses  of  the  rivers  Peiho  and 
Whangpu,  as  stated  below. 

{a)  The  works  for  the  improvement  of  the  navigability  of  the 
Peiho,  begun  in  1898,  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Chinese  Govern- 
ment, have  been  resumed  under  the  direction  of  an  international 
Commission.  As  soon  as  the  administration  of  Tientsin  shall  have 
been  handed  back  to  the  Chinese  Government,  it  will  be  in  a posi- 
tion to  be  represented  on  this  Commission,  and  will  pay  each  year  a 
sum  of  sixty  thousand  Haikwan  taels  for  maintaining  the  works. 

{b)  A conservancy  Board,  charged  with  the  management  and 
control  of  the  works  for  straightening  the  Whangpu  and  the  im- 
provement of  the  course  of  that  river,  is  hereby  created. 

This  Board  shall  consist  of  members  representing  the  interests  of 
the  Chinese  Government  and  those  of  foreigners  in  the  shipping 
trade  of  Shanghai.  The  expenses  incurred  for  the  works  and  the 
general  management  of  the  undertaking  are  estimated  at  the  annual 
sum  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  Haikwan  taels  for  the  first 
twenty  years.  This  sum  shall  be  supplied  in  equal  portions  by  the 
Chinese  Government  and  the  foreign  interests  concerned.  Detailed 
stipulations  concerning  the  composition,  duties,  and  revenues  of  the 
conservancy  Board  are  embodied  in  annex  hereto. 

Article  XII. 

An  Imperial  Edict  of  the  24th  of  July,  1901,  reformed  the  Office 
of  foreign  affairs  (Tsungli  Yamen),  on  the  lines  indicated  by  the 
Powers,  that  is  to  say,  transformed  it  into  a Ministry  of  foreign 
affairs  (Wai-wu  Pu),  which  takes  precedence  over  the  six  other 
Ministries  of  the  State.  The  same  edict  appointed  the  principal 
members  of  this  Ministry. 

An  agreement  has  also  been  reached  concerning  the  modification 
of  Court  ceremonial  as  regards  the  reception  of  foreign  Representa- 
tives and  has  been  the  subject  of  several  notes  from  the  Chinese 
Plenipotentiaries,  the  substance  of  which  is  embodied  in  a memo- 
randum herewith  annexed. 


APPENDIX 


449 


Finally,  it  is  expressly  understood  that  as  regards  the  declara- 
tions specified  above  and  the  annexed  documents  originating  with 
the  foreign  Plenipotentiaries,  the  French  text  only  is  authoritative. 

The  Chinese  Government  having  thus  complied  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  Powers  with  the  conditions  laid  down  in  the  above-mentioned 
note  of  December  22d,  1900,  the  Powers  have  agreed  to  accede  to 
the  wish  of  China  to  terminate  the  situation  created  by  the  disorders 
of  the  summer  of  1900.  In  consequence  thereof  the  foreign  Pleni- 
potentiaries are  authorized  to  declare  in  the  names  of  their  Govern- 
ments that,  with  the  exception  of  the  legation  guards  mentioned  in 
Article  VII,  the  international  troops  will  completely  evacuate  the 
city  of  Peking  on  the  17th  September,  1901,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  localities  mentioned  in  Article  IX,  will  withdraw  from 
the  province  of  Chihli  on  the  22d  of  September. 

The  present  final  Protocol  has  been  drawn  up  in  twelve  identic 
copies  and  signed  by  all  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  the  Contracting 
Countries.  One  copy  shall  be  given  to  each  of  the  foreign  Plenipo- 
tentiaries, and  one  copy  shall  be  given  to  the  Chinese  Plenipoten- 
tiaries. 

Peking,  7th  September,  1901. 

A.  V.  Mumm. 

M.  CZIKANN. 

JOOSTENS. 

B.  J.  DE  COLOGAN. 

W.  W.  Rockhill. 

Beau. 

Ernest  Satow. 

Salvago  Raggi. 

JUTARO  KoMURA. 

F.  M.  Knobel. 

M.  DE  Giers. 


Signatures 

and 

seals 

of 

Chinese 

Plenipotentiaries. 


450 


APPENDIX 


B.  THE  EMIGRATION  TREATY  BETWEEN  CHINA  AND 
THE  UNITED  STATES,  1894. 

Signed  March  17 y 1894  j Proclaimed  December  8,  1894. 

Whereas,  on  the  17th  day  of  November,  a.  d.  1880,  and  of 
Kwanghsii,  the  sixth  year,  tenth  moon,  fifteenth  day,  a Treaty  was 
concluded  between  the  United  States  and  China  for  the  purpose  of 
regulating,  limiting,  or  suspending  the  coming  of  Chinese  laborers 
to,  and  their  residence  in,  the  United  States ; 

And  whereas  the  Government  of  China,  in  view  of  the  antagonism 
and  much  deprecated  and  serious  disorders  to  which  the  presence 
of  Chinese  laborers  has  given  rise  in  certain  parts  of  the  United 
States,  desires  to  prohibit  the  emigration  of  such  laborers  from 
China  to  the  United  States  ; 

And  whereas  the  two  Governments  desire  to  cooperate  in  pro- 
hibiting such  emigration,  and  to  strengthen  in  other  ways  the  bonds 
of  friendship  between  the  two  countries  ; 

And  whereas  the  two  Governments  are  desirous  of  adopting  recip- 
rocal measures  for  the  better  protection  of  the  citizens  or  subjects 
of  each  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  other ; 

Now,  therefore,  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  appointed 
Walter  Q.  Gresham,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  as  his 
Plenipotentiary,  and  His  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  China 
has  appointed  Yang  Yii,  Officer  of  the  second  rank,  Sub-Director  of 
the  Court  of  Sacrificial  Worship,  and  Envoy  Extraordinary  and 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States  of  America,  as  his 
Plenipotentiary ; and  the  said  Plenipotentiaries  having  exhibited 
their  respective  Full  Powers  found  to  be  in  due  and  good  form,  have 
agreed  upon  the  following  articles  : 

Article  I. 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  agree  that  for  a period  of  ten  years, 
beginning  with  the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  this 
Convention,  the  coming,  except  under  the  conditions  hereinafter 
specified,  of  Chinese  laborers  to  the  United  States  shall  be  absolutely 
prohibited. 


APPENDIX 


451 


Article  II. 

The  preceding  Article  shall  not  apply  to  the  return  to  the  United 
States  of  any  registered  Chinese  laborer  who  has  a lawful  wife, 
child,  or  parent  in  the  United  States,  or  property  therein  of  the 
value  of  one  thousand  dollars,  or  debts  of  like  amount  due  him  and 
pending  settlement.  Nevertheless  every  such  Chinese  laborer  shall, 
before  leaving  the  United  States,  deposit,  as  a condition  of  his 
return,  with  the  collector  of  customs  of  the  district  from  which  he 
departs,  a full  description  in  writing  of  his  family,  or  property,  or 
debts,  as  aforesaid,  and  shall  be  furnished  by  said  collector  with 
such  certificate  of  his  right  to  return  under  this  Treaty  as  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  may  now  or  hereafter  prescribe  and  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  provisions  of  this  Treaty ; and  should  the  written 
description  aforesaid  be  proved  to  be  false,  the  right  of  return  there- 
under, or  of  continued  residence  after  return,  shall  in  each  case  be 
forfeited.  And  such  right  of  return  to  the  United  States  shall  be 
exercised  within  one  year  from  the  date  of  leaving  the  United 
States ; but  such  right  of  return  to  the  United  States  may  be  ex- 
tended for  an  additional  period,  not  to  exceed  one  year,  in  cases 
where  by  reason  of  sickness  or  other  cause  of  disability  beyond  his 
control,  such  Chinese  laborer  shall  be  rendered  unable  sooner  to 
return  — which  facts  shall  be  fully  reported  to  the  Chinese  consul  at 
the  port  of  departure,  and  by  him  certified,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
collector  of  the  port  at  which  such  Chinese  subject  shall  land  in  the 
United  States.  And  no  such  Chinese  laborer  shall  be  permitted  to 
enter  the  United  States  by  land  or  sea  without  producing  to  the 
proper  officer  of  the  customs  the  return  certificate  herein  required. 

Article  III. 

The  provisions  of  this  Convention  shall  not  affect  the  right  at 
present  enjoyed  of  Chinese  subjects,  being  officials,  teachers,  stu- 
dents, merchants  or  travelers,  for  curiosity  or  pleasure,  but  not 
laborers,  of  coming  to  the  United  States  and  residing  therein.  To 
entitle  such  Chinese  subjects  as  are  above  described  to  admission 
into  the  United  States,  they  may  produce  a certificate  from  their 
Government  or  the  Government  where  they  last  resided  visdd  by 


452 


APPENDIX 


the  diplomatic  or  consular  representative  of  the  United  States  in  the 
country  or  port  whence  they  depart. 

It  is  also  agreed  that  Chinese  laborers  shall  continue  to  enjoy  the 
privilege  of  transit  across  the  territory  of  the  United  States  in  the 
course  of  their  journey  to  or  from  other  countries,  subject  to  such 
regulations  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  as  may  be 
necessary  to  prevent  said  privilege  of  transit  from  being  abused. 

Article  IV. 

In  pursuance  of  Article  III  of  the  Immigration  Treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  China,  signed  at  Peking  on  the  17th  day  of 
November,  1880  (the  15th  day  of  the  tenth  month  of  KwanghsU, 
sixth  year),  it  is  hereby  understood  and  agreed  that  Chinese  laborers 
or  Chinese  of  any  other  class,  either  permanently  or  temporarily 
residing  in  the  United  States,  shall  have  for  the  protection  of  their 
persons  and  property  all  rights  that  are  given  by  the  laws  of  the 
United  States  to  citizens  of  the  most  favored  nation,  excepting  the 
right  to  become  naturalized  citizens.  And  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  reaffirms  its  obligation,  as  stated  in  said  Article  III, 
to  exert  all  its  power  to  secure  protection  to  the  persons  and  pro- 
perty of  all  Chinese  subjects  in  the  United  States. 

Article  V. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States,  having  by  an  Act  of  the 
Congress,  approved  May  5,  1892,  as  amended  by  an  Act  approved 
November  3,  1893,  required  all  Chinese  laborers  lawfully  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States  before  the  passage  of  the  first  named 
Act  to  be  registered  as  in  said  Acts  provided,  with  a view  of  afford- 
ing them  better  protection,  the  Chinese  Government  will  not  object 
to  the  enforcement  of  such  acts,  and  reciprocally  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  recognizes  the  right  of  the  Government  of 
China  to  enact  and  enforce  similar  laws  or  regulations  for  the  regis- 
tration, free  of  charge,  of  all  laborers,  skilled  or  unskilled  (not  mer- 
chants as  defined  by  said  Acts  of  Congress),  citizens  of  the  United 
States  in  China,  whether  residing  within  or  without  the  treaty  ports. 

And  the  Government  of  the  United  States  agrees  that  within 
twelve  months  from  the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of 


APPENDIX 


453 


this  Convention,  and  annually,  thereafter,  it  will  furnish  to  the  Gov- 
ernment of  China  registers  or  reports  showing  the  full  name,  age, 
occupation  and  number  or  place  of  residence  of  all  other  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  including  missionaries,  residing  both  within 
and  without  the  treaty  ports  of  China,  not  including,  however, 
diplomatic  and  other  officers  of  the  United  States  residing  or  travel- 
ing in  China  upon  official  business,  together  with  their  body  and 
household  servants. 

Article  VI. 

This  Convention  shall  remain  in  force  for  a period  of  ten  years 
beginning  with  the  date  of  the  exchange  of  ratifications,  and,  if  six 
months  before  the  expiration  of  the  said  period  of  ten  years,  neither 
Government  shall  have  formally  given  notice  of  its  final  termination 
to  the  other,  it  shall  remain  in  full  force  for  another  like  period  of 
ten  years. 

In  faith  whereof,  we,  the  respective  plenipotentiaries,  have  signed 
this  Convention  and  have  hereunto  affixed  our  seals. 

Done,  in  duplicate,  at  Washington,  the  17th  day  of  March,  A.  d. 
1894. 

Walter  Q.  Gresham  [seal.] 
(Chinese  Signature)  [seal.] 


C.  TREATY  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  JAPAN. 

Signed  November  22,  189 J/. ; Proclaimed  March  21,  1895. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  and  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  of  Japan,  being  equally  desirous  of  maintaining  the 
relations  of  good  understanding  which  happily  exist  between  them, 
by  extending  and  increasing  the  intercourse  between  their  respective 
States,  and  being  convinced  that  this  object  cannot  better  be  accom- 
plished than  by  revising  the  Treaties  hitherto  existing  between  the 
two  countries,  have  resolved  to  complete  such  a revision,  based  upon 
principles  of  equity  and  mutual  benefit,  and,  for  that  purpose,  have 
named  as  their  Plenipotentiaries,  that  is  to  say:  The  President  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States,  and  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan, 
Jushii  Shinichiro  Kurino,  of  the  Order  of  the  Sacred  Treasure,  and 


454 


APPENDIX 


of  the  Fourth  Class ; who,  after  having  communicated  to  each  other 
their  full  powers,  found  to  be  in  good  and  due  form,  have  agreed 
upon  and  concluded  the  following  Articles : — 

Article  I. 

The  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  of  the  two  High  Contracting  Par- 
ties shall  have  full  liberty  to  enter,  travel,  or  reside  in  any  part  of 
the  territories  of  the  other  Contracting  Party,  and  shall  enjoy  full 
and  perfect  protection  for  their  persons  and  property. 

They  shall  have  free  access  to  the  Courts  of  Justice  in  pursuit  and 
defense  of  their  rights ; they  shall  be  at  liberty  equally  with  native 
citizens  or  subjects  to  choose  and  employ  lawyers,  advocates  and 
representatives  to  pursue  and  defend  their  rights  before  such  Courts, 
and  in  all  other  matters  connected  with  the  administration  of  justice 
they  shall  enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  enjoyed  by  native  citi- 
zens or  subjects. 

In  whatever  relates  to  rights  of  residence  and  travel ; to  the  pos- 
session of  goods  and  effects  of  any  kind ; to  the  succession  to  per- 
sonal estate,  by  will  or  otherwise,  and  the  disposal  of  property  of  any 
sort  and  in  any  manner  whatsoever  which  they  may  lawfully  acquire, 
the  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  Contracting  Party  shall  enjoy  in  the 
territories  of  the  other  the  same  privileges,  liberties,  and  rights,  and 
shall  be  subject  to  no  higher  imposts  or  charges  in  these  respects 
than  native  citizens  or  subjects,  or  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  most 
favored  nation.  The  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  of  the  Contracting 
Parties  shall  enjoy  in  the  territories  of  the  other  entire  liberty  of 
conscience,  and,  subject  to  the  laws,  ordinances,  and  regulations, 
shall  enjoy  the  right  of  private  or  public  exercise  of  their  worship, 
and  also  the  right  of  burying  their  respective  countrymen,  according 
to  their  religious  customs,  in  such  suitable  and  convenient  places  as 
may  be  established  and  maintained  for  that  purpose. 

They  shall  not  be  compelled,  under  any  pretext  whatsoever,  to 
pay  any  charges  or  taxes  other  or  higher  than  those  that  are,  or  may 
be  paid  by  native  citizens  or  subjects,  or  citizens  or  subjects  of  the 
most  favored  nation. 

The  citizens  or  subjects  of  either  of  the  Contracting  Parties 
residing  in  the  territories  of  the  other  shall  be  exempted  from  all 


APPENDIX 


455 


compulsory  military  service  whatsoever,  whether  in  the  army,  navy, 
national  guard,  or  militia ; from  all  contributions  imposed  in  lieu  of 
personal  service ; and  from  all  forced  loans  or  military  exactions  or 
contributions. 

Article  II. 

There  shall  be  reciprocal  freedom  of  commerce  and  navigation 
between  the  territories  of  the  two  High  Contracting  Parties. 

The  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties 
may  trade  in  any  part  of  the  territories  of  the  other  by  wholesale 
or  retail  in  all  kinds  of  produce,  manufactures,  and  merchandise  of 
lawful  commerce,  either  in  person  or  by  agents,  singly  or  in  partner- 
ship with  foreigners  or  native  citizens  or  subjects  ; and  they  may 
there  own  or  hire  and  occupy  houses,  manufactories,  warehouses, 
shops  and  premises  which  maybe  necessary  for  them,  and  lease  land 
for  residential  and  commercial  purposes,  conforming  themselves  to 
the  laws,  police  and  customs  regulations  of  the  country  like  native 
citizens  or  subjects. 

They  shall  have  liberty  freely  to  come  with  their  ships  and  car- 
goes to  all  places,  ports,  and  rivers  in  the  territories  of  the  other, 
which  are  or  may  be  opened  to  foreign  commerce,  and  shall  enjoy, 
respectively,  the  same  treatment  in  matters  of  commerce  and  navi- 
gation as  native  citizens  or  subjects,  or  citizens  or  subjects  of  the 
most  favored  nation,  without  having  to  pay  taxes,  imposts  or  duties, 
of  whatever  nature  or  under  whatever  denomination  levied  in  the 
name  or  for  the  profit  of  the  Government,  public  functionaries,  pri- 
vate individuals,  corporations,  or  establishments  of  any  kind,  other 
or  greater  than  those  paid  by  native  citizens  or  subjects,  or  citizens 
or  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation. 

It  is,  however,  understood  that  the  stipulations  contained  in  this 
and  the  preceding  Article  do  not  in  any  way  affect  the  laws,  ordi- 
nances and  regulations  with  regard  to  trade,  the  immigration  of 
laborers,  police  and  public  security  which  are  in  force  or  which  may 
hereafter  be  enacted  in  either  of  the  two  countries. 

Article  III. 

The  dwellings,  manufactories,  warehouses,  and  shops  of  the  citi- 
zens or  subjects  of  each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  in  the 


456 


APPENDIX 


territories  of  the  other,  and  all  premises  appertaining  thereto  des- 
tined for  purposes  of  residence  or  commerce,  shall  be  respected. 

It  shall  not  be  allowable  to  proceed  to  make  a search  of,  or  a 
domiciliary  visit  to,  such  dwellings  and  premises,  or  to  examine  or 
inspect  books,  papers,  or  accounts,  except  under  the  conditions  and 
with  the  forms  prescribed  by  the  laws,  ordinances  and  regulations 
for  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  country. 

Article  IV. 

No  other  or  higher  duties  shall  be  imposed  on  the  importation 
into  the  territories  of  the  United  States  of  any  article,  the  produce 
or  manufacture  of  the  territories  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of 
Japan,  from  whatever  place  arriving;  and  no  other  or  higher  duties 
shall  be  imposed  on  the  importation  into  the  territories  of  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan  of  any  article,  the  produce  or  manu- 
facture of  the  territories  of  the  United  States,  from  whatever  place 
arriving,  than  on  the  like  article  produced  or  manufactured  in  any 
other  foreign  country ; nor  shall  any  prohibition  be  maintained  or 
imposed  on  the  importation  of  any  article,  the  produce  or  manufac- 
ture of  the  territories  of  either  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties,  into 
the  territories  of  the  other,  from  whatever  place  arriving,  which 
shall  not  equally  extend  to  the  importation  of  the  like  article,  being 
the  produce  or  manufacture  of  any  other  country.  This  last  pro- 
vision is  not  applicable  to  the  sanitary  and  other  prohibitions  occa- 
sioned by  the  necessity  of  protecting  the  safety  of  persons,  or  of 
cattle,  or  of  plants  useful  to  agriculture. 

Article  V. 

No  other  or  higher  duties  or  charges  shall  be  imposed  in  the  ter- 
ritories of  either  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  on  the  exportation 
of  any  article  to  the  territories  of  the  other  than  such  as  are,  or  may 
be,  payable  on  the  exportation  of  the  like  article  to  any  other  for- 
eign country  ; nor  shall  any  prohibition  be  imposed  on  the  exporta- 
tion of  any  article  from  the  territories  of  either  of  the  two  High 
Contracting  Parties  to  the  territories  of  the  other  which  shall  not 
equally  extend  to  the  exportation  of  the  like  article  to  any  other 
country. 


APPENDIX 


457 


Article  VI. 

The  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties 
shall  enjoy  in  the  territories  of  the  other  exemption  from  all  transit 
duties,  and  a perfect  equality  of  treatment  with  native  citizens  or 
subjects  in  all  that  relates  to  warehousing,  bounties,  facilities,  and 
drawbacks. 

Article  VII. 

All  articles  which  are  or  may  be  legally  imported  into  the  ports 
of  the  territories  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan  in  Japanese 
vessels  may  likewise  be  imported  into  those  ports  in  vessels  of  the 
United  States,  without  being  liable  to  any  other  or  higher  duties  or 
charges  of  whatever  denomination  than  if  such  articles  were  im- 
ported in  Japanese  vessels  ; and,  reciprocally,  all  articles  which  are 
or  may  be  legally  imported  into  the  ports  of  the  territories  of  the 
United  States  in  vessels  of  the  United  States  may  likewise  be  im- 
ported into  those  ports  in  Japanese  vessels,  without  being  liable  to 
any  other  or  higher  duties  or  charges  of  whatever  denomination  than 
if  such  articles  were  imported  in  vessels  of  the  United  States.  Such 
reciprocal  equality  of  treatment  shall  take  effect  without  distinction, 
whether  such  articles  come  directly  from  the  place  of  origin  or  from 
any  other  place. 

In  the  same  manner,  there  shall  be  perfect  equality  of  treatment 
in  regard  to  exportation,  so  that  the  same  export  duties  shall  be 
paid,  and  the  same  bounties  and  drawbacks  allowed,  in  the  territo- 
ries of  either  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  on  the  exportation  of 
any  article  which  is  or  may  be  legally  exported  therefrom,  whether 
such  exportation  shall  take  place  in  Japanese  vessels  or  in  vessels 
of  the  United  States,  and  whatever  may  be  the  place  of  destination, 
whether  a port  of  either  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  or  of  any 
third  Power. 

Article  VIII. 

No  duties  of  tonnage,  harbor,  pilotage,  lighthouse,  quarantine,  or 
other  similar  or  corresponding  duties  of  whatever  nature,  or  under 
whatever  denomination  levied  In  the  name  or  for  the  profit  of  GoV' 
ernment,  public  functionaries,  private  individuals,  corporations,  or 
establishments  of  any  kind,  shall  be  imposed  in  the  ports  of  the 


458 


APPENDIX 


territories  of  either  country  upon  the  vessels  of  the  other  country 
which  shall  not  equally  and  under  the  same  conditions  be  imposed 
in  the  like  cases  on  national  vessels  in  general  or  vessels  of  the 
most  favored  nation.  Such  equality  of  treatment  shall  apply  reci- 
procally to  the  respective  vessels,  from  whatever  port  or  place  they 
may  arrive,  and  whatever  may  be  their  place  of  destination. 

Article  IX. 

In  all  that  regards  the  stationing,  loading,  and  unloading  of  vessels 
in  the  ports,  basins,  docks,  roadsteads,  harbors  or  rivers  of  the  terri- 
tories of  the  two  countries,  no  privilege  shall  be  granted  to  national 
vessels  which  shall  not  be  equally  granted  to  vessels  of  the  other 
country ; the  intention  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  being  that 
in  this  respect  also  the  respective  vessels  shall  be  treated  on  the 
footing  of  perfect  equality. 

Article  X. 

The  coasting  trade  of  both  the  High  Contracting  Parties  is  ex- 
cepted from  the  provisions  of  the  present  Treaty,  and  shall  be  regu- 
lated according  to  the  laws,  ordinances  and  regulations  of  the  United 
States  and  Japan,  respectively.  It  is,  however,  understood  that 
citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the  territories  of  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  Japan  and  Japanese  subjects  in  the  territories  of  the 
United  States,  shall  enjoy  in  this  respect  the  rights  which  are,  or 
may  be,  granted  under  such  laws,  ordinances  and  regulations  to  the 
citizens  or  subjects  of  any  other  country. 

A vessel  of  the  United  States  laden  in  a foreign  country  with 
cargo  destined  for  two  or  more  ports  in  the  territories  of  His  Ma- 
jesty the  Emperor  of  Japan,  and  a Japanese  vessel  laden  in  a foreign 
country  with  cargo  destined  for  two  or  more  ports  in  the  territories 
of  the  United  States,  may  discharge  a portion  of  her  cargo  at  one 
port,  and  continue  her  voyage  to  the  other  port  or  ports  of  destina- 
tion where  foreign  trade  is  permitted,  for  the  purpose  of  landing  the 
remainder  of  her  original  cargo  there,  subject  always  to  the  laws 
and  customs  regulations  of  the  two  countries. 

The  Japanese  Government,  however,  agrees  to  allow  vessels  of 
the  United  States  to  continue,  as  heretofore,  for  the  period  of  the 


APPENDIX 


459 


duration  of  the  present  Treaty,  to  carry  cargo  between  the  existing 
open  ports  of  the  Empire,  excepting  to  or  from  the  ports  of  Osaka, 
Niigata,  and  Ebisuminato. 

Article  XI. 

Any  ship-of-war  or  merchant  vessel  of  either  of  the  High  Con- 
tracting Parties  which  may  be  compelled  by  stress  of  weather,  or 
by  reason  of  any  other  distress,  to  take  shelter  in  a port  of  the 
other,  shall  be  at  liberty  to  refit  therein,  to  procure  all  necessary 
supplies,  and  to  put  to  sea  again,  without  paying  any  dues  other  than 
such  as  would  be  payable  by  national  vessels.  In  case,  however, 
the  master  of  a merchant  vessel  should  be  under  the  necessity  of 
disposing  of  a part  of  his  cargo  in  order  to  defray  the  expenses,  he 
shall  be  bound  to  conform  to  the  regulations  and  tariffs  of  the  place 
to  which  he  may  have  come. 

If  any  ship-of-war  or  merchant  vessel  of  one  of  the  High  Con- 
tracting Parties  should  run  aground  or  be  wrecked  upon  the  coasts 
of  the  other,  the  local  authorities  shall  inform  the  Consul  General, 
Consul,  Vice-Consul,  or  Consular  Agent  of  the  district,  of  the  occur- 
rence, or  if  there  be  no  such  consular  officers,  they  shall  inform  the 
Consul  General,  Consul,  Vice-Consul,  or  Consular  Agent  of  the 
nearest  district. 

All  proceedings  relative  to  the  salvage  of  Japanese  vessels, 
wrecked  or  cast  on  shore  in  the  territorial  waters  of  the  United 
States,  shall  take  place  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  and,  reciprocally,  all  measures  of  salvage  relative  to  vessels 
of  the  United  States,  wrecked  or  cast  on  shore  in  the  territorial 
waters  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Japan,  shall  take  place  in 
accordance  with  the  laws,  ordinances,  and  regulations  of  Japan. 

Such  stranded  or  wrecked  ship  or  vessel,  and  all  parts  thereof, 
and  all  furniture  and  appurtenances  belonging  thereunto,  and  all 
goods  and  merchandise  saved  therefrom,  including  those  which  may 
have  been  cast  into  the  sea,  or  the  proceeds  thereof,  if  sold,  as  well 
as  all  papers  found  on  board  such  stranded  or  wrecked  ship  or 
vessel,  shall  be  given  up  to  the  owners  or  their  agents,  when  claimed 
by  them.  If  such  owners  or  agents  are  not  on  the  spot,  the  same 
shall  be  delivered  to  the  respective  Consuls  General,  Consuls,  Vice- 


460 


APPENDIX 


Consuls,  or  Consular  Agents  upon  being  claimed  by  them  within  the 
period  fixed  by  the  laws,  ordinances  and  regulations  of  the  country, 
and  such  Consular  officers,  owners,  or  agents  shall  pay  only  the 
expenses  incurred  in  the  preservation  of  the  property,  together  with 
the  salvage  or  other  expenses  which  would  have  been  payable  in  the 
case  of  the  wreck  of  a national  vessel. 

The  goods  and  merchandise  saved  from  the  wreck  shall  be  exempt 
from  all  the  duties  of  the  Customs  unless  cleared  for  consumption, 
in  which  case  they  shall  pay  the  ordinary  duties. 

When  a vessel  belonging  to  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  one  of  the 
High  Contracting  Parties  is  stranded  or  wrecked  in  the  territories 
of  the  other,  the  respective  Consuls  General,  Consuls,  Vice-Consuls, 
and  Consular  Agents  shall  be  authorized,  in  case  the  owner  or 
master,  or  other  agent  of  the  owner,  is  not  present,  to  lend  their 
official  assistance  in  order  to  afford  the  necessary  assistance  to  the 
citizens  or  subjects  of  the  respective  States.  The  same  rule  shall 
apply  in  case  the  owner,  master,  or  other  agent  is  present,  but  re- 
quires such  assistance  to  be  given. 

Ajiticle  XII. 

All  vessels  which,  according  to  United  States  law,  are  to  be 
deemed  vessels  of  the  United  States,  and  all  vessels  which,  accord- 
ing to  Japanese  law,  are  to  be  deemed  Japanese  vessels,  shall,  for 
the  purposes  of  this  Treaty,  be  deemed  vessels  of  the  United  States 
and  Japanese  vessels,  respectively. 

Article  XIII. 

The  Consuls  General,  Consuls,  Vice-Consuls,  and  Consular  Agents 
of  each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties,  residing  in  the  territories 
of  the  other,  shall  receive  from  the  local  authorities  such  assistance 
as  can  by  law  be  given  to  them  for  the  recovery  of  deserters  from 
the  vessels  of  their  respective  countries. 

It  is  understood  that  this  stipulation  shall  not  apply  to  the  citizens 
or  subjects  of  the  country  where  the  desertion  takes  place. 

Article  XIV. 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  agree  that,  in  all  that  concerns 


APPENDIX 


461 


commerce  and  navigation,  any  privilege,  favor  or  Immunity  which 
either  High  Contracting  Party  has  actually  granted,  or  may  here- 
after grant,  to  the  Government,  ships,  citizens,  or  subjects  of  any 
other  State,  shall  be  extended  to  the  Government,  ships,  citizens,  or 
subjects  of  the  other  High  Contracting  Party,  gratuitously,  if  the 
concession  in  favor  of  that  other  State  shall  have  been  gratuitous, 
and  on  the  same  or  equivalent  conditions  if  the  concession  shall 
have  been  conditional : it  being  their  intention  that  the  trade  and 
navigation  of  each  country  shall  be  placed,  in  all  respects,  by  the 
other,  upon  the  footing  of  the  most  favored  nation. 

Article  XV. 

Each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  may  appoint  Consuls  Gen- 
eral, Consuls,  Vice-Consuls,  Pro-Consuls,  and  Consular  Agents,  in 
all  the  ports,  cities,  and  places  of  the  other,  except  in  those  where  it 
may  not  be  convenient  to  recognize  such  officers. 

This  exception,  however,  shall  not  be  made  in  regard  to  one  of 
the  High  Contracting  Parties  without  being  made  likewise  in  regard 
to  every  other  Power. 

The  Consuls  General,  Consuls,  Vice-Consuls,  Pro-Consuls,  and 
Consular  Agents,  may  exercise  all  functions,  and  shall  enjoy  all 
privileges,  exemptions,  and  immunities  which  are,  or  may  hereafter 
be,  granted  to  Consular  officers  of  the  most  favored  nation. 

Article  XVI. 

The  citizens  or  subjects  of  each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties 
shall  enjoy  in  the  territories  of  the  other  the  same  protection  as 
native  citizens  or  subjects  in  regard  to  patents,  trade-marks  and 
designs,  upon  fulfillment  of  the  formalities  prescribed  by  law. 

Article  XVII. 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  agree  to  the  following  arrange- 
ment ; — 

The  several  Foreign  Settlements  in  Japan  shall,  from  the  date 
this  Treaty  comes  into  force,  be  incorporated  with  the^respective 
Japanese  Communes,  and  shall  thenceforth  form  part  of  the  general 
municipal  system  of  Japan.  The  competent  Japanese  Authorities 


462 


APPENDIX 


shall  thereupon  assume  all  municipal  obligations  and  duties  in  re- 
spect thereof,  and  the  common  funds  and  property,  if  any,  belong- 
ing to  such  Settlements  shall  at  the  same  time  be  transferred  to  the 
said  Japanese  Authorities. 

When  such  incorporation  takes  place  existing  leases  in  perpetuity 
upon  which  property  is  now  held  in  the  said  Settlements  shall  be 
confirmed,  and  no  conditions  whatsoever  other  than  those  contained 
in  such  existing  leases  shall  be  imposed  in  respect  of  such  property. 
It  is,  however,  understood  that  the  Consular  Authorities  mentioned 
in  the  same  are  in  all  cases  to  be  replaced  by  the  Japanese  Author- 
ities. All  lands  which  may  previously  have  been  granted  by  the 
Japanese  Government  free  of  rent  for  the  public  purposes  of  the  said 
Settlements  shall,  subject  to  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  be  per- 
manently reserved  free  of  all  taxes  and  charges  for  the  public  pur- 
poses for  which  they  were  originally  set  apart. 

Akticle  XVIII. 

This  Treaty  shall,  from  the  date  it  comes  into  force,  be  substi- 
tuted in  place  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  and  Amity  concluded  on  the 
3d  day  of  the  3d  month  of  the  7th  year  of  Kayei,  corresponding  to 
the  31st  day  of  March,  1854 ; the  Treaty  of  Amity  and  Commerce 
concluded  on  the  19th  day  of  the  6th  month  of  the  5th  year  of 
Ansei,  corresponding  to  the  29th  day  of  July,  1858 ; the  Tariff 
Convention  concluded  on  the  13th  day  of  the  5th  month  of  the 
2d  year  of  Keio,  corresponding  to  the  25th  day  of  June,  1866 ; the 
Convention  concluded  on  the  25th  day  of  the  7th  month  of  the  11th 
year  of  Meiji,  corresponding  to  the  25th  day  of  July,  1878,  and  all 
Arrangements  and  Agreements  subsidiary  thereto  concluded  or 
existing  between  the  High  Contracting  Parties ; and  from  the  same 
date  such  Treaties,  Conventions,  Arrangements  and  Agreements 
shall  cease  to  be  binding,  and,  in  consequence,  the  jurisdiction  then 
exercised  by  Courts  of  the  United  States  in  Japan  and  all  the  ex- 
ceptional privileges,  exemptions  and  immunities  then  enjoyed  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States  as  a part  of,  or  appurtenant  to  such 
jurisdiction,  shall  absolutely  and  without  notice  cease  and  deter- 
mine, and  thereafter  all  such  jurisdiction  shall  be  assumed  and  exer- 
cised by  Japanese  Courts. 


APPENDIX 


463 


Article  XIX. 

This  Treaty  shall  go  into  operation  on  the  17th  day  of  July, 
1899,  and  shall  remain  in  force  for  the  period  of  twelve  years  from 
that  date. 

Either  High  Contracting  Party  shall  have  the  right,  at  any  time 
thereafter,  to  give  notice  to  the  other  of  its  intention  to  terminate 
the  same,  and  at  the  expiration  of  twelve  months  after  such  notice 
is  given  this  Treaty  shall  wholly  cease  and  determine. 

Article  XX. 

This  Treaty  shall  be  ratified,  and  the  ratifications  thereof  shall  be 
exchanged,  either  at  Washington  or  Tokio,  as  soon  as  possible  and 
not  later  than  six  months  after  its  signature. 

In  witness  whereof  the  respective  Plenipotentiaries  have  signed 
the  present  Treaty  in  duplicate  and  have  thereunto  affixed  their 
seals. 

Done  at  the  City  of  Washington  the  22d  day  of  November,  in  the 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-fourth  year  of  the  Christian  era,  cor- 
responding to  the  22d  day  of  the  11th  month  of  the  27th  year  of 
Meiji. 

Walter  Q.  Gresham  [seal.] 
Shinichiro  Kurino  [seal.] 


D.  JOINT  RESOLUTION  FOR  ANNEXING  THE  HAWAIIAN 
ISLANDS  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES,  1898. 

Whereas  the  Government  of  the  Republic  of  Hawaii  having,  in 
due  form,  signified  its  consent,  in  the  manner  provided  by  its  con- 
stitution, to  cede  absolutely  and  without  reserve  to  the  United  States 
of  America  all  rights  of  sovereignty  of  whatsoever  kind  in  and  over 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  and  their  dependencies,  and  also  to  cede  and 
transfer  to  the  United  States  the  absolute  fee  and  ownership  of  all 
public,  Government,  or  Crown  lands,  public  buildings  or  edifices, 
ports,  harbors,  military  equipment,  and  all  other  public  property  of 
every  kind  and  description  belonging  to  the  Government  of  the 


464 


APPENDIX 


Hawaiian  Islands,  together  with  every  right  and  appurtenance 
thereunto  appertaining : Therefore, 

Resolved  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assembled.  That  said  cession 
is  accepted,  ratified,  and  confirmed,  and  that  the  said  Hawaiian 
Islands  and  their  dependencies  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  annexed  as 
a part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  and  are  subject  to  the 
sovereign  dominion  thereof,  and  that  all  and  singular  the  property 
and  rights  hereinbefore  mentioned  are  vested  in  the  United  States 
of  America. 

The  existing  laws  of  the  United  States  relative  to  public  lands 
shall  not  apply  to  such  lands  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands ; but  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States  shall  enact  special  laws  for  their  manage- 
ment and  disposition : Provided,  That  all  revenue  from  or  pro- 
ceeds of  the  same,  except  as  regards  such  part  thereof  as  may  be 
used  or  occupied  for  the  civil,  military,  or  naval  purposes  of  the 
United  States,  or  may  be  assigned  for  the  use  of  the  local  govern- 
ment, shall  be  used  solely  for  the  benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  for  educational  and  other  public  purposes. 

Until  Congress  shall  provide  for  the  government  of  such  islands 
all  the  civil,  judicial,  and  military  powers  exercised  by  the  officers 
of  the  existing  government  in  said  islands  shall  be  vested  in  such 
person  or  persons  and  shall  be  exercised  in  such  manner  as  the 
President  of  the  United  States  shall  direct ; and  the  President  shall 
have  power  to  remove  said  officers  and  fill  the  vacancies  so  occa- 
sioned. 

The  existing  treaties  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  with  foreign  na- 
tions shall  forthwith  cease  and  determine,  being  replaced  by  such 
treaties  as  may  exist,  or  as  may  be  hereafter  concluded,  between  the 
United  States  and  such  foreign  nations.  The  municipal  legislation 
of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  not  enacted  for  the  fulfillment  of  the  trea- 
ties so  extinguished,  and  not  inconsistent  with  this  joint  resolution 
nor  contrary  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  nor  to  any 
existing  treaty  of  the  United  States,  shall  remain  in  force  until  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  shall  otherwise  determine. 

Until  legislation  shall  be  enacted  extending  the  United  States 
customs  laws  and  regulations  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands  the  existing 


APPENDIX 


465 


customs  relations  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  with  the  United  States 
and  other  countries  shall  remain  unchanged. 

The  public  debt  of  the  Republic  of  Hawaii,  lawfully  existing  at 
the  date  of  the  passage  of  this  joint  resolution,  including  the  amounts 
due  to  depositors  in  the  Hawaiian  Postal  Savings  Bank,  is  hereby 
assumed  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States  ; but  the  liability 
of  the  United  States  in  this  regard  shall  in  no  case  exceed  four  mil- 
lion dollars.  So  long,  however,  as  the  existing  Government  and  the 
present  commercial  relations  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands  are  continued 
hereinbefore  as  provided  said  Government  shall  continue  to  pay  the 
interest  on  said  debt. 

There  shall  be  no  further  immigration  of  Chinese  into  the  Hawai- 
ian Islands,  except  upon  such  conditions  as  are  now  or  may  here- 
after be  allowed  by  the  laws  of  the  United  States  ; and  no  Chinese, 
by  reason  of  anything  herein  contained,  shall  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  United  States  from  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

The  President  shall  appoint  five  commissioners,  at  least  two  of 
whom  shall  be  residents  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  who  shall,  as  soon 
as  reasonably  practicable,  recommend  to  Congress  such  legislation 
concerning  the  Hawaiian  Islands  as  they  shall  deem  necessary  or 
proper. 

Sec.  2.  That  the  commissioners  hereinbefore  provided  for  shall 
be  appointed  by  the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  may  be  necessary,  is  hereby  appropriated,  out  of 
any  money  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  and  to  be 
immediately  available,  to  be  expended  at  the  discretion  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  of  America,  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
this  joint  resolution  into  effect. 

Approved  July  7,  1898. 


466 


APPENDIX 


E.  THE  SAMOAN  TREATY  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 
GERMANY,  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN,  1899. 

Signed  December  2,  1899;  Proclaimed  February  16,  1900. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  His  Imperial 
Majesty  the  German  Emperor,  King  of  Prussia,  and  Her  Majesty 
the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Em- 
press of  India,  desiring  to  adjust  amicably  the  questions  which  have 
arisen  between  them  in  respect  to  the  Samoan  group  of  Islands, 
as  well  as  to  avoid  all  future  misunderstanding  in  respect  to  their 
joint  or  several  rights  and  claims  of  possession  or  jurisdiction  therein, 
have  agreed  to  establish  and  regulate  the  same  by  a special  conven- 
tion ; and  whereas  the  Governments  of  Germany  and  Great  Britain 
have,  with  the  concurrence  of  that  of  the  United  States,  made  an 
agreement  regarding  their  respective  rights  and  interests  in  the 
aforesaid  group,  the  three  Powers  before  named  in  furtherance  of 
the  ends  above  mentioned  have  appointed  respectively  their  Pleni- 
potentiaries as  follows : 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  the  Honorable 
John  Hay,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States  ; 

His  Majesty  the  German  Emperor,  King  of  Prussia,  His  Ambas- 
sador Extraordinary  and  Plenipotentiary,  Herr  von  Holleben  ; and 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Empress 
of  India,  the  Right  Honorable  Lord  Pauncefote  of  Preston,  G.  C.  B., 
G.  C.  M.  G.,  Her  Britannic  Majesty’s  Ambassador  Extraordinary 
and  Plenipotentiary : 

who,  after. having  communicated  each  to  the  other  their  respec- 
tive full  powers  which  were  found  to  be  in  proper  form,  have  agreed 
upon  and  concluded  the  following  articles : 

Article  I. 

The  General  Act  concluded  and  signed  by  the  aforesaid  Powers 
at  Berlin  on  the  14th  day  of  June,  A.  d.  1889,  and  all  previous  trea- 
ties, conventions  and  agreements  relating  to  Samoa,  are  annulled. 


APPENDIX 


467 


Article  II. 

Germany  renounces  in  favor  of  the  United  States  of  America  all 
her  rights  and  claims  over  and  in  respect  to  the  Island  of  Tutuila, 
and  all  other  islands  of  the  Samoan  group  east  of  Longitude  171° 
west  of  Greenwich. 

Great  Britain  in  like  manner  renounces  in  favor  of  the  United 
States  of  America  all  her  rights  and  claims  over  and  in  respect  to 
the  Island  of  Tutuila  and  all  other  islands  of  the  Samoan  group 
east  of  Longitude  171°  west  of  Greenwich. 

Reciprocally,  the  United  States  of  America  renounce  in  favor  of 
Germany  all  their  rights  and  claims  over  and  in  respect  to  the  Islands 
of  Upolu  and  Savaii  and  all  other  Islands  of  the  Samoan  group 
west  of  Longitude  171°  west  of  Greenwich. 

Article  III. 

It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  each  of  the  three  signatory  Pow- 
ers shall  continue  to  enjoy,  in  respect  to  their  commerce  and  com- 
mercial vessels,  in  all  the  islands  of  the  Samoan  group  privileges 
and  conditions  equal  to  those  enjoyed  by  the  Sovereign  Power,  in 
all  ports  which  may  be  open  to  the  commerce  of  either  of  them. 

Article  IV. 

The  present  Convention  shall  be  ratified  as  soon  as  possible,  and 
shall  come  into  force  immediately  after  the  exchange  of  ratifica- 
tions. 

In  faith  whereof,  we,  the  respective  Plenipotentiaries,  have  signed 
this  Convention  and  have  hereunto  affixed  our  seals. 

Done  in  triplicate,  at  Washington,  the  second  day  of  December, 
in  the  year  of  Our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine. 

John  Hat  [seal.] 
Holleben  [seal.] 
Pauncefote  [seal.] 


468 


APPENDIX 


F.  PROTOCOL  BETWEEN -THE  UNITED  STATES  AND 
SPAIN,  August  12,  1898. 

William  R.  Day,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  and 
His  Excellency  Jules  Gambon,  Ambassador  Extraordinary  and 
Plenipotentiary  of  the  Republic  of  France  at  Washington,  respec- 
tively possessing  for  this  purpose  full  authority  from  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  and  the  Government  of  Spain,  have 
concluded  and  signed  the  following  articles,  embodying  the  terms 
on  which  the  two  Governments  have  agreed  in  respect  to  the  matters 
hereinafter  set  forth,  having  in  view  the  establishment  of  peace 
between  the  two  countries,  that  is  to  say : 

Article  I. 

Spain  will  relinquish  all  claim  of  sovereignty  over  and  title  to 
Cuba. 

Article  II. 

Spain  will  cede  to  the  United  States  the  island  of  Porto  Rico  and 
other  islands  now  under  Spanish  sovereignty  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  also  an  island  in  the  Ladrones  to  be  selected  by  the  United 
States. 

Article  III. 

The  United  States  will  occupy  and  hold  the  city,  bay  and  harbor 
of  Manila,  pending  the  conclusion  of  a treaty  of  peace  which  shall 
determine  the  control,  disposition  and  government  of  the  Philip- 
pines. 

Article  IV. 

Spain  will  immediately  evacuate  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  and  other 
islands  now  under  Spanish  sovereignty  in  the  West  Indies;  and  to 
this  end  each  Government  will,  within  ten  days  after  the  signing  of 
this  protocol,  appoint  Commissioners,  and  the  Commissioners  so 
appointed  shall,  within  thirty  days  after  the  signing  of  this  protocol, 
meet  at  Havana  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  and  carrying  out  the 
details  of  the  aforesaid  evacuation  of  Cuba  and  the  adjacent  Span- 
ish islands ; and  each  Government  will,  within  ten  days  after  the 
signing  of  this  protocol,  also  appoint  other  Commissioners,  who 


APPENDIX 


469 


shall,  within  thirty  days  after  the  signing  of  this  protocol,  meet  at 
San  Juan  in  Porto  Rico,-  for  the  purpose  of  arranging  and  carrying 
out  the  details  of  the  aforesaid  evacuation  of  Porto  Rico  and  other 
islands  now  under  Spanish  sovereignty  in  the  West  Indies. 

Article  V. 

The  United  States  and  Spain  will  each  appoint  not  more  than 
five  commissioners  to  treat  of  peace,  and  the  commissioners  so  ap- 
pointed shall  meet  at  Paris  not  later  than  October  1,  1898,  and 
proceed  to  the  negotiation  and  conclusion  of  a treaty  of  peace,  which 
treaty  shall  be  subject  to  ratification  according  to  the  respective 
constitutional  forms  of  the  two  countries. 

Article  VI. 

Upon  the  conclusion  and  signing  of  this  protocol,  hostilities  be- 
tween the  two  countries  shall  be  suspended,  and  notice  to  that  effect 
shall  be  given  as  soon  as  possible  by  each  Government  to  the  com- 
manders of  its  military  and  naval  forces. 

Done  at  Washington  in  duplicate,  in  English  and  in  French,  by 
the  Undersigned,  who  have  hereunto  set  their  hands  and  seals,  the 
12th  day  of  August,  1898. 

[seal.]  William  R.  Day. 
[seal.]  Jules  Gambon. 


Treaty  of  Peace  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  1898. 

Signed  December  10^  1898  ; Proclaimed  April  11,  1899. 

The  United  States  of  America  and  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Regent 
of  Spain,  in  the  Name  of  Her  August  Son  Don  Alfonso  XIII,  desir- 
ing to  end  the  state  of  war  now  existing  between  the  two  countries, 
have  for  that  purpose  appointed  as  Plenipotentiaries : 

The  President  of  the  United  States, 

William  R.  Day,  Cushman  K.  Davis,  William  P.  Frye,  George 
Gray,  and  Whitelaw  Reid,  citizens  of  the  United  States ; 
and  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Regent  of  Spain, 

Don  Eugenio  Montero  Rios,  President  of  the  Senate, 


470 


APPENDIX 


Don  Buenaventura  de  Abarzuza,  Senator  of  the  Kingdom  and 
ex-Minister  of  the  Crown, 

Don  Jos^  de  Garnica,  Deputy  to  the  Cortes  and  Associate  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court ; 

Don  Wenceslao  Ramirez  de  Villa-Urrutia,  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  at  Brussels,  and 

Don  Rafael  Cerero,  General  of  Division ; 

Who,  having  assembled  in  Paris,  and  having  exchanged  their  full 
powers,  which  were  found  to  be  in  due  and  proper  form,  have,  after 
discussion  of  the  matters  before  them,  agreed  upon  the  following 
articles : 

Article  I. 

Spain  relinquishes  all  claim  to  sovereignty  over  and  title  to  Cuba. 

And  as  the  island  is,  upon  its  evacuation  by  Spain,  to  be  occupied 
by  the  United  States,  the  United  States  will,  so  long  as  such  occu- 
pation shall  last,  assume  and  discharge  the  obligations  that  may 
under  international  law  result  from  the  fact  of  its  occupation,  for 
the  protection  of  life  and  property. 

Article  II. 

Spain  cedes  to  the  United  States  the  island  of  Porto  Rico  and 
other  islands  now  under  Spanish  sovereignty  in  the  West  Indies, 
and  the  island  of  Guam  in  the  Marianas  or  Ladrones. 

Article  III. 

Spain  cedes  to  the  United  States  the  archipelago  known  as  the 
Philippine  Islands  and  comprehending  the  islands  lying  within  the 
following  line : 

A line  running  from  west  to  east  along  or  near  the  twentieth 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  through  the  middle  of  the  navigable 
channel  of  Bachi,  from  the  one  hundred  and  eighteenth  (118th)  to 
the  one  hundred  and  twenty-seventh  (127th)  degree  meridian  of 
longitude  east  of  Greenwich,  thence  along  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seventh  (127th)  degree  meridian  of  longitude  east  of  Green- 
wich to  the  parallel  of  four  degrees  and  forty -five  minutes  (4°  45  ^) 
north  latitude,  thence  along  the  parallel  of  four  degrees  and  forty- 
five  minutes  (4°  45')  north  latitude  to  its  intersection  with  the 


APPENDIX 


471 


meridian  of  longitude  one  hundred  and  nineteen  degrees  and  thirty- 
five  minutes  (119°  35')'  east  of  Greenwich,  thence  along  the  me- 
ridian of  longitude  one  hundred  and  nineteen  degrees  and  thirty- 
five  minutes  (119°  35')  east  of  Greenwich  to  the  parallel  of  latitude 
seven  degrees  and  forty  minutes  (7°  40')  north,  thence  along  the 
parallel  of  latitude  seven  degrees  and  forty  minutes  (7°  40')  north 
to  its  intersection  with  the  one  hundred  and  sixteenth  (116th)  de- 
gree meridian  of  longitude  east  of  Greenwich,  thence  by  a direct 
line  to  the  intersection  of  the  tenth  (10th)  degree  parallel  of  nortli 
latitude  with  the  one  hundred  and  eighteenth  (118th)  degree  merid- 
ian of  longitude  east  of  Greenwich,  and  thence  along  the  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteenth  (118th)  degree  meridian  of  longitude  east  of 
Greenwich  to  the  point  of  beginning. 

The  United  States  will  pay  to  Spain  the  sum  of  twenty  million 
dollars  ($20,000,000)  within  three  months  after  the  exchange  of  the 
ratifications  of  the  present  treaty. 

Article  IV. 

The  United  States  will,  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  the  date 
af  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  treaty,  admit 
Spanish  ships  and  merchandise  to  the  ports  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
on  the  same  terms  as  ships  and  merchandise  of  the  United  States. 

Article  V. 

The  United  States  will,  upon  the  signature  of  the  present  treaty, 
send  back  to  Spain,  at  its  own  cost,  the  Spanish  soldiers  taken  as 
prisoners  of  war  on  the  capture  of  Manila  by  the  American  forces. 
The  arms  of  the  soldiers  in  question  shall  be  restored  to  them. 

Spain  will,  upon  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present 
treaty,  proceed  to  evacuate  the  Philippines,  as  well  as  the  island  of 
Guam,  on  terms  similar  to  those  agreed  upon  by  the  Commissioners 
appointed  to  arrange  for  the  evacuation  of  Porto  Rico  and  other 
islands  in  the  West  Indies,  under  the  Protocol  of  August  12,  1898, 
which  is  to  continue  in  force  till  its  provisions  are  completely  exe- 
cuted. 

The  time  within  which  the  evacuation  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
and  Guam  shall  be  completed  shall  be  fixed  by  the  two  Govern- 


472 


APPENDIX 


merits.  Stands  of  colors,  uncaptured  war  vessels,  small  arms,  guns 
of  all  calibres,  with  their  carriages  and  accessories,  powder,  ammu- 
nition, livestock,  and  materials  and  supplies  of  all  kinds,  belonging 
to  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  Spain  in  the  Philippines  and  Guam, 
remain  the  property  of  Spain.  Pieces  of  heavy  ordnance,  exclusive 
of  field  artillery,  in  the  fortifications  and  coast  defenses,  shall  remain 
in  their  emplacements  for  the  term  of  six  months,  to  be  reckoned 
from  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  the  treaty ; and  the  United 
States  may,  in  the  mean  time,  purchase  such  material  from  Spain, 
if  a satisfactory  agreement  between  the  two  Governments  on  the 
subject  shall  be  reached. 

Article  VI. 

Spain  will,  upon  the  signature  of  the  present  treaty,  release  all 
prisoners  of  war,  and  all  persons  detained  or  imprisoned  for  political 
offenses,  in  connection  with  the  insurrections  in  Cuba  and  the  Phil- 
ippines and  the  war  with  the  United  States. 

Reciprocally,  the  United  States  will  release  all  persons  made  pris- 
oners of  war  by  the  American  forces,  and  will  undertake  to  obtain 
the  release  of  all  Spanish  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents  in 
Cuba  and  the  Philippines. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  will  at  its  own  cost  return 
to  Spain  and  the  Government  of  Spain  will  at  its  own  cost  return  to 
the  United  States,  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  the  Philippines,  according 
to  the  situation  of  their  respective  homes,  prisoners  released  or 
caused  to  be  released  by  them,  respectively,  under  this  article. 

Article  VII. 

The  United  States  and  Spain  mutually  relinquish  all  claims  for 
indemnity,  national  and  individual  of  every  kind,  of  either  Govern- 
ment, or  of  its  citizens  or  subjects,  against  the  other  Government, 
that  may  have  arisen  since  the  beginning  of  the  late  insurrection  in 
Cuba  and  prior  to  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  the  present  treaty, 
including  all  claims  for  indemnity  for  the  cost  of  the  war. 

The  United  States  will  adjudicate  and  settle  the  claims  of  its  citi- 
zens against  Spain  relinquished  in  this  article. 


APPENDIX 


473 


Article  VIII. 

In  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  Articles  I,  II,  and  III  of 
this  treaty,  Spain  relinquishes  in  Cuba,  and  cedes  in  Porto  Rico  and 
other  islands  in  the  West  Indies,  in  the  island  of  Guam,  and  in  the 
Philippine  Archipelago,  all  the  buildings,  wharves,  barracks,  forts, 
structures,  public  highways  and  other  immovable  property  which,  in 
conformity  with  law,  belong  to  the  public  domain,  and  as  such 
belong  to  the  Crown  of  Spain. 

And  it  is  hereby  declared  that  the  relinquishment  or  cession,  as 
the  case  may  be,  to  which  the  preceding  paragraph  refers,  cannot  in 
any  respect  impair  the  property  or  rights  which  by  law  belong  to 
the  peaceful  possession  of  property  of  all  kinds,  of  provinces,  muni- 
cipalities, public  or  private  establishments,  ecclesiastical  or  civic 
bodies,  or  any  other  associations  having  legal  capacity  to  acquire 
and  possess  property  in  the  aforesaid  territories  renounced  or  ceded, 
or  of  private  individuals,  of  whatsoever  nationality  such  individuals 
may  be. 

The  aforesaid  relinquishment  or  cession,  as  the  case  may  be,  in- 
cludes all  documents  exclusively  referring  to  the  sovereignty  relin- 
quished or  ceded  that  may  exist  in  the  archives  of  the  Peninsula. 
Where  any  document  in  such  archives  only  in  part  relates  to  said 
sovereignty,  a copy  of  such  part  will  be  furnished  whenever  it  shall 
be  requested.  Like  rules  shall  be  reciprocally  observed  in  favor  of 
Spain  in  respect  of  documents  in  the  archives  of  the  islands  above 
referred  to. 

In  the  aforesaid  relinquishment  or  cession,  as  the  case  may  be,  are 
also  included  such  rights  as  the  Crown  of  Spain  and  its  authorities 
possess  in  respect  of  the  official  archives  and  records,  executive  as 
well  as  judicial,  in  the  islands  above  referred  to,  which  relate  to  said 
islands  or  the  rights  and  property  of  their  inhabitants.  Such  ar- 
chives and  records  shall  be  carefully  preserved,  and  private  persons 
shall  without  distinction  have  the  right  to  require,  in  accordance 
with  law,  authenticated  copies  of  the  contracts,  wills,  and  other  in- 
struments forming  part  of  notarial  protocols  or  files,  or  which  may 
be  contained  in  the  executive  or  judicial  archives,  be  the  latter  in 
Spain  or  in  the  islands  aforesaid. 


474 


APPENDIX 


Article  IX. 

Spanish  subjects,  natives  of  the  Peninsula,  residing  in  the  terri- 
tory over  which  Spain  by  the  present  treaty  lelinquishes  or  cedes  her 
sovereignty,  may  remain  in  such  territory  or  may  remove  therefrom, 
retaining  in  either  event  all  their  rights  of  property,  including  the 
right  to  sell  or  dispose  of  such  property  or  of  its  proceeds  ; and  they 
shall  also  have  the  right  to  carry  on  their  industry,  commerce  and 
professions,  being  subject  in  respect  thereof  to  such  laws  as  are 
applicable  to  other  foreigners.  In  case  they  remain  in  the  territory 
they  may  preserve  their  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Spain  by  making, 
before  a court  of  record,  witliin  a year  from  the  date  of  the  exchange 
of  ratifications  of  this  treaty,  a declaration  of  their  decision  to  pre- 
serve such  allegiance ; in  default  of  which  declaration  they  shall  be 
held  to  have  renounced  it  and  to  have  adopted  the  nationality  of  the 
territory  in  which  they  may  reside. 

The  civil  rights  and  political  status  of  the  native  inhabitants  of 
the  territories  hereby  ceded  to  the  United  States  shall  be  determined 
by  the  Congress. 

Article  X. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  territories  over  which  Spain  relinquishes 
or  cedes  her  sovereignty  shall  be  secured  in  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion. 

Article  XI. 

The  Spaniards  residing  in  the  territories  over  which  Spain  by  this 
treaty  cedes  or  relinquishes  her  sovereignty  shall  be  subject  in  mat- 
ters civil  as  well  as  criminal  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the 
country  wherein  they  reside,  pursuant  to  the  ordinary  laws  govern- 
ing the  same ; and  they  shall  have  the  right  to  appear  before  such 
courts,  and  to  pursue  the  same  course  as  citizens  of  the  country  to 
which  the  courts  belong. 

Article  XII. 

Judicial  proceedings  pending  at  the  time  of  the  exchange  of  rati- 
fications of  this  treaty  in  the  territories  over  which  Spain  relin- 
quishes or  cedes  her  sovereignty  shall  be  determined  according  to 
the  following  rules : 


APPENDIX 


475 


1.  Judgments  rendered  either  in  civil  suits  between  private  indi- 
viduals, or  in  criminal  matters,  before  the  date  mentioned,  and  with 
respect  to  which  there  is^  no  recourse  or  right  of  review  under  the 
Spanish  law,  shall  be  deemed  to  be  final,  and  shall  be  executed  in 
due  form  by  competent  authority  in  the  territory  within  which  such 
judgments  should  be  carried  out. 

2.  Civil  suits  between  private  individuals  which  may  on  the  date 
mentioned  be  undetermined  shall  be  prosecuted  to  judgment  before 
the  court  in  which  they  may  then  be  pending  or  in  the  court  that 
may  be  substituted  therefor. 

3.  Criminal  actions  pending  on  the  date  mentioned  before  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Spain  against  citizens  of  the  territory  which  by 
this  treaty  ceases  to  be  Spanish  shall  continue  under  its  jurisdiction 
until  final  judgment ; but,  such  judgment  having  been  rendered,  the 
execution  thereof  shall  be  committed  to  the  competent  authority  of 
the  place  in  which  the  case  arose. 

Article  XIII. 

The  rights  of  property  secured  by  coj)yrights  and  patents  acquired 
by  Spaniards  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  and  in  Porto  Rico,  the  Philip- 
pines and  other  ceded  territories,  at  the  time  of  the  exchange  of  the 
ratifications  of  this  treaty,  shall  continue  to  be  respected.  Spanish 
scientific,  literary  and  artistic  works,  not  subversive  of  public  order 
in  the  territories  in  question,  shall  continue  to  be  admitted  free  of 
duty  into  such  territories,  for  the  period  of  ten  years,  to  be  reckoned 
from  the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  this  treaty.  * 

Article  XIV. 

Spain  shall  have  the  power  to  establish  consular  officers  in  the 
ports  and  places  of  the  territories,  the  sovereignty  over  which  has 
been  either  relinquished  or  ceded  by  the  present  treaty. 

Article  XV. 

The  Government  of  each  country  will,  for  the  term  of  ten  years, 
accord  to  the  merchant  vessels  of  the  other  country  the  same  treat- 
ment in  respect  of  all  port  charges,  including  entrance  and  clearance 
dues,  light  dues,  and  tonnage  duties,  as  it  accords  to  its  own  mer- 
chant vessels,  not  engaged  in  the  coastwise  trade. 


476 


APPENDIX 


This  article  may  at  any  time  be  terminated  on  six  months’  notice 
given  by  either  Government  to  the  other. 

Akticle  XVI. 

It  is  understood  that  any  obligations  assumed  in  this  treaty  by  the 
United  States  with  respect  to  Cuba  are  limited  to  the  time  of  its 
occupancy  thereof ; but  it  will  upon  the  termination  of  such  occu- 
pancy, advise  any  Government  established  in  the  island  to  assume 
the  same  obligations. 

Aeticle  XVII. 

The  present  treaty  shall  be  ratified  by  the  President  of  the  Umted 
States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  thereof, 
and  by  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Regent  of  Spain ; and  the  ratifica- 
tions shall  be  exchanged  at  'Washington  within  six  months  from  the 
date  hereof,  or  earlier  if  possible. 

In  faith  whereof,  we,  the  respective  Plenipotentiaries,  have  signed 
this  treaty  and  have  hereunto  affixed  our  seals. 

Done  in  duplicate  at  Paris,  the  tenth  day  of  December,  in  the 
year  of  Our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight. 

[seal.]  'William  R.  Day.  [seal.]  Eugenio  Montero  Rios, 

[seal.]  Cushman  K.  Davis,  [seal.]  B.  de  Abarzuza. 

[seal.]  Wm.  P.  Frye.  [seal.]  J.  de  Garnica. 

[seal.]  Geo.  Gray.  [seal.]  W.  R.  de  Villa  Urrutia. 

[seal.]  Whitelaw  Reid.  [seal.]  Rafael  Cerero. 


INDEX 


Acteon  affair,  at  Honolulu,  121. 

Adams,  English  pilot,  in  Japan,  8. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  on  treatment  of 
Napier  by  Chinese,  63 ; on  the  Opium 
War,  73  ; suggested  for  Chinese  Mis- 
sion, 78;  on  Christian  missions  in 
Hawaiian  Islands,  107. 

Allen,  Dr.  H.  N.,  reception  of,  in 
Korea,  329 ; American  minister  to 
Korea,  329. 

American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
sends  missionaries  to  Hawaii,  106 ; 
expenditures  of,  in  Hawaii,  109. 

Amherst,  Lord,  sent  as  ambassador  to 
China  (1815),  25. 

Angell,  Dr.  James  B.,  one  of  commis- 
sion to  negotiate  immigration  treaty 
with  China,  294  ; American  minister 
to  China,  295. 

Annam,  Roberts  sent  on  mission  to,  46 ; 
Roberts’s  embassy  at,  48. 

Annexation,  Vancouver’s  attempted,  of 
Hawaiian  Islands,  112  ; of  Hawaiian 
Islands  attempted  by  Lord  Paulet, 
124 ; provisional,  of  Hawaii  to  United 
States  (1851),  130;  of  Formosa  and 
Lew  Chew  Islands  by  United  States 
proposed,  229  ; of  Hawaii  to  United 
States  indicated  (1850-1860),  365; 
of  Hawaii,  Secretary  Marcy  directs 
American  minister  to  propose,  366  ; 
treaty  of,  negotiated  with  Hawaii, 
366  ; to  United  States,  Lord  Palmer- 
ston declares  to  be  destiny  of  Ha- 
waii, 368 ; treaty  negotiated  between 
Hawaii  and  United  States  February, 
1893,  377 ; treaty  of,  with  Hawaii, 
(1893),  withdrawn  by  President 
Cleveland,  378 ; treaty  between  Ha- 
waii and  United  States  negotiated  in 
1897,  381 ; Japanese  opposition  to, 
of  Hawaii  to  United  States,  382; 
joint  resolution  for,  to  United  States 
signed  July,  1898,  383 ; reason  for, 
of  Hawaii  to  United  States,  384 ; of 
Philippine  Islands  by  United  States, 


405 ; text  of  joint  resolution  of  Con- 
gress for  the,  of  Hawaii,  463. 

Apia,  American  squadron  destroyed  by 
hurricane  at,  392. 

Arrow  War,  cause  of,  223 ; views  of 
British  statesmen  as  to,  224  ; views 
of  United  States  ministers  as  to,  225. 

Atlantic  cable,  one  of  messages  over, 
in  1858,  announced  peace  in  China, 
245. 

Audience,  by  Dutch  officials  at  Yedo, 
14 ; Ismailoff ’s,  with  Chinese  em- 
peror, 20;  Lord  Macartney’s,  with 
Chinese  emperor,  23. 

Audience  question,  raised  on  Ward’s 
arrival  at  Peking,  249 ; prolonged 
discussion  of,  250  ; in  China  again 
raised,  269 ; temporary  settlement 
of,  in  1873,  270 ; again  raised  in 
China,  in  1891,  270  ; points  involved 
in,  271;  settlement  of,  271  ; finally 
settled  by  peace  agreement  between 
China  and  allies  in  1901,  431. 

Aulick,  Commodore,  selected  to  com- 
mand Japan  expedition,  146  ; recalled 
from  Japan  expedition,  147 ; dis- 
agreement of,  with  Minister  Mar- 
shall, 206. 

Balestier,  J.,  commissioner  to  negotiate 
treaty  with  Borneo,  142. 

Baranoff,  governor  of  Russian  Amer- 
ica, attempts  annexation  of  Hawaiian 
Islands,  112. 

Barrier  Forts,  American  naval  force 
fires  upon,  226. 

Berlin  Act,  substance  of,  regarding 
Samoa,  394. 

Berlin  Samoan  Conference,  393. 

Biddle,  Commodore,  enters  Bay  of 
Yedo,  1846,  143. 

Blount,  J.  H.,  commissioner  to  investi- 
gate Hawaiian  revolution  and  condi- 
tions, 378. 

Bogue  Forts  fire  on  British  squadron, 
62. 


478 


INDEX 


Borneo,  Balestier  negotiates  treaty 
with  sultan  of,  142. 

Bowring,  Sir  John,  British  governor  of 
Hongkong,  215  ; course  pursued  by, 
in  relation  to  Lorcha  Arrow,  223  ; 
linguist  and  hymnologist,  223. 

Boxers,  outbreak  of,  in  China,  408 ; 
meaning  of  name,  I Ho  Tuan  or, 
408  ; origin  of,  409  ) cause  of  uprising 
of,  409 ; missions,  not  chief  cause  of 
uprising  of,  in  China,  412  ; most  po- 
tent cause  of  uprising  of,  political, 
414  ; proclamation  of  empress  dow- 
ager favorable  to,  416 ; progress  of 
uprising  of,  417 ; attack  railroad 
stations,  419 ; aimed  to  drive  out 
foreigners  and  not  Christians  partic- 
ularly, 421  ; Chinese  government 
sympathizes  with,  and  gives  aid  to, 
421 ; question  of  punishment  of  lead- 
ers of,  in  peace  negotiations,  428. 

Bridgman,  Rev.  E.  C.,  American  mis- 
sionary and  editor  of  Chinese  Reposi- 
tory, 3 ; secretary  of  Cushing  em- 
bassy, 79. 

British  East  India  Company,  see  East 
India  Company. 

Burke,  Edmund,  on  American  whale 
fishery,  102. 

Burlingame,  Anson,  career  of,  257  ; ap- 
pointed American  minister  to  China, 
258 ; arrives  in  China,  258 ; secures 
adoption  of  “ a policy  of  coopera- 
tion,” 258 ; appointed  Chinese  envoy 
to  Western  powers,  263 ; character 
and  conduct  of,  as  Chinese  envoy, 
264  ; death  of,  264  ; Blaine’s  opinion 
of,  267. 

Burlingame  embassy,  constitution  of, 
263;  reception  of,  in  United  States 
and*  Europe,  264;  object  of,  265; 
result  of,  treaty  of  1868  with  United 
States,  265. 

California,  Chinese  laborers  arrive  in, 
282  ; influence  of  development  of,  on 
Hawaiian  industries,  365,  368,  370; 
opposition  in,  to  Chinese  immigra- 
tion, 285. 

Canton,  attacked  by  Capt.  Weddel 
(1635),  5 ; Chinese  ports  closed  ex- 
cept, 7 ; foreign  women  excluded 
from,  19;  Krusenstern’s  attempt  to 
trade  at,  21 ; only  port  open  to  Brit- 
ish trade,  24 ; first  American  vessel 
arrives  at,  27  ; Shaw,  first  American 
consul  at,  32 ; conduct  of  trade  at, 
33 ; exchange  of  prisoners  by  United 


States  and  Great  Britain  at,  39 ; for- 
eign factories  at,  41 ; embarassments 
of  trade  at,  43 ; treatment  of  Roberts’s 
embassy  at,  47 ; conditions  of  trade 
at,  56 ; Lord  Napier  at,  57  ; English 
trade  stopped  at,  62 ; British  troops 
stationed  in  factories  at,  62 ; Napier 
withdraws  from,  62 ; execution  of 
Chinese  opium  dealer  at,  67 ; fac- 
tories at,  closed  to  stop  opium  trade, 
69  ; ransomed  from  assault  during 
Opium  War,  70 ; Americans  indem- 
nified for  injuries  during  Opium 
War,  74  ; riot  at,  over  weather-vane 
of  American  consul,  91 ; riot  at,  dur- 
ing negotiation  of  Cushing  treaty, 
92  ; enlargement  of  factories  at,  95 ; 

• residence  of  foreign  representatives 
outside  walls  of,  96;  bombardment 
and  capture  of,  by  British  (1856), 
223  ; Americans  charged  with  par- 
ticipating in  British  attack  on,  227 ; 
looting  of  palaces  in,  by  British, 
228  ; sack  of,  by  allies  (1857),  233. 

Carrington,  Edward,  American  con- 
sular agent  at  Canton,  39. 

Carysfort  aflFair  at  Hawaii,  124. 

Chang  Chih  Tung,  viceroy,  author  of 
book  on  reforms  for  China,  417. 

Chang  Yen  Huan,  one  of  Chinese  peace 
commissioners  sent  to  Japan,  339; 
biographical  note  on,  339. 

Charlton,  Richard,  British  consul-gen- 
eral to  Hawaiian  Islands,  113;  ap- 
peals to  Lord  Paulet  to  enforce 
claims  against  Hawaii,  124. 

Charter  oath,  taken  by  Mikado,  199. 

China,  early  relations  of,  with  Japan, 
2 ; early  relations  of,  with  the  West, 
2 ; Dutch  squadron  arrives  off  coast 
of,  4 ; first  European  vessel  to,  4 ; 
Portuguese  outrages  in,  4 ; British 
vessels  arrive  in  (1635),  5;  cause  of 
antipathy  to  foreigners  by,  6 ; early 
missionaries  to,  6 ; early  relations  of, 
with  Spain,  6 ; ports  of,  closed,  ex- 
cept Canton,  7 ; European  attempts 
during  I7th  and  18th  centuries  to 
trade  with,  16 ; treaty  of  1689,  with 
Russia,  17  ; war  between  Russia  and, 
17th  century,  17 ; Russian  ambassa- 
dors of  1693  and  1719  to,  18 ; treaty 
of  1727,  with  Russia,  21 ; early  trade 
of  Russia  with,  21;  British  trade 
with,  during  18th  century,  22  ; Ma- 
cartney embassy  to,  22;  King  of 
England  in  1795  sends  presents  to 
emperor  of,  24;  Amherst  embassy 


INDEX 


479 


to  (1815),  25;  first  American  vessel 
arrives  in,  27  ; American  trade  with, 
SO ; fur  trade  with,  31 ; Shaw,  first 
American  consul  in,  32 ; profits  of, 
37  ; relaxation  of  trade  regulations 
in,  41 ; better  position  of  United 
States  politically  in,  44 ; use  of  opium 
in,  64;  Opium  War  between  Great 
Britain  and,  70;  treaty  between 
Great  Britain  and  (1842),  71 ; grants 
Americans  equal  commercial  rela- 
tions with  British,  75  ; Cushing  mis- 
sion to,  79  ; treaty  of  Wang  Hiya 
(1844)  between  United  States  and, 
86;  exterritoriality  first  applied  in, 
92;  treaty  between  France  and 
(1844),  95 ; isthmus  of  Panama, 
bulwark  of  independence  of,  133 ; 
projected  steamship  line  between 
San  Francisco  and,  146 ; Davis, 
United  States  commissioner  to,  204 ; 
MarshaU,  United  States  commis- 
sioner to,  205 ; Yeh,  high  commis- 
sioner of,  205 ; attempts  of  Marshall 
to  secure  interview  with  commis- 
sioner of,  205 ; E-liang  receives 
President’s  letter  from  Marshall  for 
delivery  to  emperor  of,  206 ; Tai- 
ping  Rebellion  in,  208 ; services  ren- 
dered to,  by  Gen.  Ward  and  his 
“ Ever  Victorious  Army,”  212  ; Mc- 
Lane  succeeds  Marshall  as  minister  i 
to,  213  ; McLane’s  treatment  by  high 
commissioner  of,  214 ; determination  j 
of  foreign  ministers  to,  to  proceed  to  | 
Peiho  and  renew  demands,  216  ; ar-  | 
rival  of  foreign  ministers  to,  at  mouth 
of  Peiho,  216 ; opposition  of,  to  treaty 
revision,  217 ; reception  of  foreign 
ministers  by  commissioner  of,  on 
hanks  of  Peiho,  217 ; commissioner  j 
of,  without  plenary  powers,  217  ; fail-  I 
ure  of  conference  relative  to  revision 
of  treaties  with,  218  ; McLane  urges  | 
a more  vigorous  policy  in,  218 ; Amer- 
ican merchants  at  Shanghai  pay  du- 
ties to,  218;  Parker  charge  of  United 
States  in,  219;  neutrality  of  United 
States  during  Taiping  Rebellion  in, 
220 ; Dr.  Parker  appointed  commis- 
sioner to,  221 ; attempts  of  Parker 
to  secure  revision  of  treaty  with, 
221 ; return  by  viceroy  at  Shang- 
hai of  President’s  letter  to  emperor 
of,  with  seals  broken,  222  ; the  Ar- 
row War  between  Great  Britain  and, 
223 ; American  surveying  party  fired 
upon  near  Canton,  225 ; attack  on  I 


forts  near  Canton,  by  Americans, 
226 ; Yeh  excuses  firing  on  survey- 
ing party  near  Canton,  226 ; charge 
of  participation  by  Americans  in 
British  attack  on  Canton,  227  ; Brit- 
ish campaign  in,  delayed  by  Sepoy 
Rebellion,  228 ; looting  of  palaces  in 
Canton,  by  British,  228 ; plan  of 
Minister  Parker  to  avoid  war  in, 
229;  conservative  policy  of  United 
States  in  relation  to,  229 ; Reed  suc- 
ceeds Parker  as  United  States  minis- 
ter to,  231 ; instructed  to  cooperate 
with  powers  in  peaceful  efforts, 
231 ; United  States  could  not  make 
war  against,  without  authority  of 
Congress,  232 ; Lord  Elgin,  British, 
and  Baron  Gros,  French  representa- 
tive in,  232 ; sack  of  Canton,  by 
allies,  233 ; war  by  England  and 
France  (1857)  against,  233 ; Reed 
fails  to  secure  interview  with  high 
commissioner  of,  233 ; disappoint- 
ment of  Elgin  and  Gros  at  United 
States’  policy  toward,  233 ; attitude 
of  Russia  toward,  234 ; Reed  advo- 
cates strong  measures  in  dealing 
with,  234;  foreign  ministers  unite 
in  demanding  revision  of  treaties, 
235  ; attitude  of  United  States  as  to 
coercive  measures  with,  236  ; refuses 
to  allow  foreign  ministers  to  directly 
communicate  with  court,  236 ; for- 
eign ministers  to,  proceed  to  the 
Peiho,  236 ; foreign  ministers  from 
Peiho  demand  appointment  of  pleni- 
potentiaries by,  237  ; foreign  minis- 
ters proceed  to  Tientsin,  238  ; Taku 
forts  of,  taken  by  assault,  238  ; trea- 
ties of  1858  negotiated,  238 ; Lord 
Elgin’s  coercive  measures  in’^secur- 
ing  treaty  with,  241 ; provisions  of 
treaties  of  1858  with,  242 ; relative 
to  toleration  of  Christianity  in,  243  ; 
trade  and  tariff  regulations  nego- 
tiated and  settlement  of  claims 
against,  243 ; United  States  returns 
part  of  Canton  Indemnity  Fund  to, 
244  ; Dr.  Williams,  charg^  of  United 
States  legation  in,  244;  Ward,  min- 
ister to,  245 ; foreign  ministers  ar- 
rive at  Peiho  on  way  to  exchange 
ratifications  with,  246  ; exchange  of 
Rxissian  treaty  with,  246  ; Ward  de- 
layed in  exchange  of  ratifications 
with,  246;  battle  of  the  Peiho  and 
repulse  of  allies  by,  247 ; allied 
forces  retire  to  Shanghai  after  de- 


480 


INDEX 


feat  by,  248;  Ward  conducted  to 
Peking-  by  direction  of  emperor  of, 
249 ; audience  question  prevents  ex- 
change of  ratifications  with,  251 ; 
Ward  leaves  Peking  without  ex- 
changing ratifications  with,  252 ; 
Ward  retires  as  minister  to,  253 ; 
Williams,  charge  of  American  lega- 
tion in,  253 ; unattractiveness  of 
mission  to,  253 ; Elgin  and  Gros  re- 
turn to,  in  1860,  with  large  force, 
254 ; allies  capture  Taku  forts  and 
march  to  Peking,  254 ; result  of  war 
between  Great  Britain  and  France 
and,  254;  Tsung-li  Yamen  estab- 
lished to  conduct  foreign  affairs  of, 
257  ; Burlingame  appointed  Ameri- 
can minister  to,  258  ; adoption  of  “ a 
policy  of  cooperation,”  by  foreign 
ministers  to,  258 ; forbids  entrance 
of  Confederate  cruisers  into  its  ports, 
259 ; progress  of,  in  Western  learn- 
ing, 261 ; Burlingame  appointed  en- 
voy of,  to  Western  powers,  263 ; 
Burlingame  embassy  of,  263 ; re- 
turn of  embassy  to,  on  death  of  Bur- 
lingame, 264 ; treaty  between  United 
States  and  (1868),  265  ; riots  against 
missionaries  at  Tientsin,  in  1870, 
268 ; regency  of  empress  dowager 
ceases,  268 ; audience  question  again 
raised  in,  269,  270 ; laborers  im- 
ported into  Hawaii  from,  for  sugar 
plantations,  271 ; youths  sent  to 
United  States  from,  to  be  edu- 
cated, 272 ; coolie  trade  of,  275 ; 
indifference  of  government  of,  to 
coolie  trade,  277  ; commission  sent 
by,  to  investigate  condition  of  coolies 
in  Cuba,  279  ; congressional  consid- 
eration of  immigration  from,  286 ; 
commission  sent  to,  to  secure  modi- 
fication of  treaty  as  to  Chinese 
immigration,  294  ; treaty  between 
United  States  and  (1880),  relative 
to  immigration,  294  ; United  States 
prohibits  opium  trade  by  treaty 
with,  295 ; Great  Britain  declines 
to  entertain  proposal  of,  to  suppress 
opium  trade,  297 ; treaty  between 
United  States  and  (1888),  negotiated 
but  not  finally  ratified,  300 ; treaty 
between  United  States  and  (1894), 
302 ; attitude  of,  in  regard  to  Chi- 
nese immigration,  306;  early  rela- 
tions of  Korea  with,  307  ; disclaims 
control  over  Korea,  320 ; interdicts 
Korea  from  sending  minister  to 


United  States,  327  ; inconsistent  at- 
titude of,  toward  Korea,  328 ; United 
States  opposes  and  ignores  attitude 
of,  as  to  Korean  ministers,  329  ; op- 
poses Japanese  attempt  to  secure 
influence  in  Korea,  332  ; rivalry  of, 
and  Japan  in  Korea  causes  war  of 
1894,  332 ; war  of  1894  between 
Japan  and,  see  Chinese- Japanese 
War;  places  interests  of  its  sub- 
jects in  Japan  in  hands  of  United 
States,  335  ; cession  to  Japan  by,  of 
Liaotung  Peninsula,  Formosa,  and 
Pescadores  islands,  340 ; treaty  of 
peace  between  Japan  and  (1895), 
340 ; part  taken  by  Americans  in 
peace  negotiations  between  Japan 
and,  341 ; Gen.  Grant  aids  in  set- 
tling dispute  between  Japan  and, 
covering  Lew  Chew  Islands,  350; 
Russia,  Germany,  and  France  com- 
bine in  favor  of,  after  war  with 
Japan,  361  ; troubles  in,  closely  fol- 
lowing cession  of  Philippines  to 
United  States,  407  ; Boxer  outbreak 
in,  408 ; anti-foreign  sentiment  in, 
409 ; classes  of  foreigners  in,  409 ; 
missionary  movement  in,  409 ; pro- 
gress of  Christianity  in,  410  ; anti- 
Christian  riots  in,  410 ; usefulness  of 
missionaries  socially  and  politically 
in,  411  ; missions  not  chief  cause  of 
Boxer  uprising,  412  ; effect  of  West- 
ern commerce  on  industries  of,  412 ; 
construction  of  railroads  in,  a cause 
of  anti-foreign  feeling,  413  ; foreign 
commercial  invasion  of,  413  ; politi- 
cal aggressions  in,  most  potent  in 
causing  Boxer  uprising,  414  ; seizure 
of  territory  of,  by  Germany  and  Rus- 
sia, 414  ; leases  Wei-hai-wei  to  Great 
Britain,  415  ; France  secures  terri- 
torial concessions  in  southern  pro- 
vinces of,  415  ; progress  of  Boxer 
uprising  in,  417  ; reforms  attempted 
by  emperor  of,  417  ; emperor  of, 
practically  dethroned  and  reformers 
punished,  418  ; increase  of  anti-for- 
eign sentiment  in,  418  ; allies  attack 
Taku  forts  in,  419  ; Boxers  in,  seize 
railroad  stations,  419  ; German  min- 
ister to,  murdered  by  Boxers.  419 ; 
repulse  of  relief  column  on  march 
to  Peking,  419 ; siege  of  legations  in 
Peking,  419  ; empress  dowager  and 
government  of,  in  sympathy  with 
Boxers,  421 ; change  of  policy  of 
United  States  in  sending  troops  to, 


INDEX 


481 


422 ; circular  note  of  July  3,  1900, 
as  to  intentions  of  United  States  in, 
423 ; Rockhill,  special  commissioner 
to,  424 ; appoints  Li  Hung  Chang  j 
and  Prince  Ching  peace  plenipoten- 
tiaries, 424;  four  important  decla- 
rations by  powers  relating  to,  425 ; 
United  States  desires,  to  punish 
Boxer  leaders,  not  to  surrender 
them  to  allies,  425  ; Anglo-German 
agreement  in  regard  to,  426  ; French 
propositions,  basis  of  peace  negotia- 
tions with,  426 ; took  no  part  in  puni-  j 
tive  expeditions  in,  426  ; joint  note  | 
of  powers  to,  containing  twelve  de-  j 
mands,  427  ; question  of  punishment  j 
of  Boxer  leaders,  in  negotiations  j 
with,  428;  Rockhill  assumes  con- 
duct of  negotiations  with,  on  depar- 
ture of  Conger,  428  ; question  of  in- 
demnity to  be  paid  by,  in  peace 
negotiations,  429  ; United  States  fa- 
vors lump  sum  indemnity  from,  429 ; 
peace  agreement  signed  by,  and  al- 
lies September  7,  1901,  430 ; provi-  i 
sions  of  peace  agreement  with,  430  ; 
indemnities  to  be  paid  by,  430 ; in- 
fluence of  United  States  in  peace 
negotiations  between  powers  and, 
431 ; circular  note  of  United  States 
favoring  “ open  door  ” policy  in,  432  ; 
United  States  favors  view  of,  in  rate 
of  exchange  on  indemnity  payments, 
433 ; place  of,  in  world  politics,  434 ; 
Wensiang  and  Sir  Robert  Hart  on 
latent  powers  of,  434;  Russia,  the 
power  most  feared  by,  436  ; text  of 
peace  agreement  between  powers 
and  (September  7,  1901),  441 ; text 
of  treaty  on  immigration  between 
United  States  and  (1894),  450. 

China  trade,  conduct  of  America,  30 ; 
increase  of,  36 ; congressional  legis- 
lation relating  to,  38 ; affected  by 
war  of  1812,  39;  vexatious  condi- 
tions of,  56 ; withdrawal  of  mono- 
poly of  East  India  Company  over, 
57  ; Lord  Napier,  chief  superintend- 
ent of  British,  57. 

Chinese,  view  of  foreigners,  43  ; as- 
sumed contempt  for  trade,  60  ; con- 
tempt of,  for  foreigners,  203. 

Chinese  emigration,  in  early  times, 
274 ; causes  of,  274.  See  also 
Coolie  Trade  ; Coolies. 

Chinese  exclusion,  congressional  com-  j 
mittee  favors,  287 ; opposed  by  Sen- 
ator Morton,  289;  bill  passed  by 


Congress  favoring,  vetoed  by  Presi- 
dent Hayes,  293 ; bill  passed  by 
Congress  on,  vetoed  by  President 
Arthur,  299 ; limitation  on,  in  treaty 
of  1880,  as  to  laborers  in  United 
States,  300;  provisions  of  treaty  of 
1888  relative  to,  300  ; Scott  Act  re- 
lating to,  301 ; presidential  election 
of  1888  and,  301 ; treaty  of  1894 
relative  to,  302  ; increased  sentiment 
in  United  States  in  favor  of,  302 ; 
bill  introduced  in  57th  Congress  for, 
302 ; debate  upon,  in  57th  Congress, 
303  ; bill  for,  in  57th  Congress  de- 
feated, 304 ; change  of  public  opin- 
ion in  United  States,  since  1868,  in 
regard  to,  305. 

Chinese  immigration,  to  United  States 
commences,  282  ; Burlingame  treaty 
on,  282  ; opposition  in  California  to, 
285  ; Californian  legislation  against, 
unconstitutional,  286 ; congressional 
committee  to  investigate,  286;  ma- 
jority report  of  committee  against, 
287 ; report  of  committee  on,  287 ; 
Morton’s  report  favorable  to,  289; 
bill  restricting,  vetoed  by  President, 
293 ; treaty  of  1880  relative  to,  294; 
commission  sent  to  China  to  secure 
restriction  of,  294 ; treaty  provision 
for  regulation  of,  by  United  States, 
295  ; text  of  treaty  of  United  States 
(1894)  relating  to,  450.  See  also  Chi- 
nese Emigration ; Chinese  Exclusion ; 
Coolie  Trade ; Coolies. 

Chinese- Japanese  War,  origin  of,  332; 
efforts  of  United  States  to  prevent, 
333 ; United  States  declines  to  join 
in  intervention  to  prevent,  334 ; 
China  and  Japan  place  interest  of 
their  subjects  in  other  countries  in 
hands  of  United  States,  335 ; two 
Japanese  spies  at  Shanghai,  dur- 
ing, 335 ; Great  Britain  again  pro- 
poses joint  intervention  in,  337 ; 
Japanese  successes  in,  337  ; United 
States  declines  to  join  powers  in  in- 
tervention, 337 ; Japan  declines  to 
accede  to  advice  of  United  States  to 
stop,  338 ; United  States  becomes 
medium  of  communication  between 
belligerents  in,  looking  toward  peace, 
339  ; Chinese  peace  commission  sent 
to  Hiroshima,  during,  339;  end  of 
war,  340 ; Japanese  dismiss  the  Chi- 
nese peace  commission,  340;  Wei- 
hai-wei  captured  by  Japanese,  340 ; 
results  of,  341 ; effect  of,  on  interna- 


482 


INDEX 


tional  relations  of  Japan,  360  ; effect 
of,  on  Chinese  feeling  toward  for- 
eigners, 413. 

Chinese  merchants,  integrity  of,  34. 

Ching,  Prince,  appointed  plenipoten- 
tiary to  negotiate  peace  with  allies, 
424. 

Chinese  Repository  (footnote),  3. 

Chosen,  see  Korea. 

Choshiu,  prince  of,  rebels  against  Sho- 
gun and  closes  strait  of  Shimonoseki, 
192. 

Christianity,  in  Japan,  9;  hostility  of 
Japanese  government  to,  200 ; in 
Japan  at  time  treaties  were  made, 
200  ; United  States  protests  against 
hostility  of  Japanese  government  to 
Christianity,  200  ; provision  in  Chi- 
nese treaty  of  ISoS  relative  to  tolera- 
tion of,  243  ; first  effort  to  introduce, 
into  Korea,  309 ; progress  of,  in 
China,  410. 

Christian  missions,  see  Missions ; Mis- 
sionaries. 

Christians,  prosecution  of,  in  Japan,  11 ; 
insulting  treatment  of,  in  Japan, 
145  ; persecution  of,  in  Korea,  309. 

Clayton,  John  M.,  negotiates  for 
United  States  treatv  with  Hawaii, 
128. 

Cochin-China,  see  Annam. 

Co-hong  at  Canton,  34;  system  of, 
abolished,  77. 

Columbia  River,  discovery  of,  99. 

Commerce,  of  the  East  with  the  West, 

2 ; restrictions  on,  of  modern  origin, 

2 ; exposed  condition  of  American,  in 
Pacific,  45 ; unprotected  state  of 
American,  46  ; assumed  contempt  of 
Chinese  officials  for,  60 ; increase  of 
American,  in  Pacific,  135 ; the  prin- 
cipal object  of  Christian  nations  with 
the  East,  412. 

Comprador,  35. 

Confederate  cruisers,  interfere  with 
whaling  industry,  105 ; forbidden 
entrance  to  Chinese  ports,  259. 

Conger,  Edward  H.,  United  States 
minister,  conducts  peace  negotia- 
tions with  China  after  Boxer  upris- 
ing, 427 ; success  of,  in  conducting 
affairs  in  China,  428. 

Consular  courts,  see  Exterritoriality. 

Coolies,  treatment  of,  in  Peru  and 
Cuba.  276  ; in  Peru  petition  Ameri-  1 
can  legation  for  aid,  278.  See  also 
Coolie  Trade. 

Coolie  trade,  origin  and  evils  of,  275 ; 1 


horrors  of,  276 ; indifference  of  Chi- 
nese government  to,  277 ; proclam  a- 
mation  of  gentry  of  Amoy  against, 
277 ; Chinese  commission  investi- 
gates, with  Cuba,  279;  legislation 
against,  280 ; relations  of  Americans 
to,  281.  See  also  Chinese  Emigra- 
tion ; Chinese  Exclusion ; Coolies. 

Copper  trade  of  Japan  with  Europe,  8. 

Corea,  see  Korea. 

Creasy,  predicts  opening  of  Japan  by 
United  States,  134. 

Cuba,  treatment  of  Chinese  coolies  in, 
276 ; Chinese  commission  investi- 
gates condition  of  coolies  in,  279; 
intolerable  condition  of  affairs  in, 
400. 

Cushing,  Caleb,  selected  for  Chinese 
mission,  79 ; Webster’s  letter  of  in- 
structions to,  80 ; negotiates  treaty 
of  Wang  Hiya,  86;  on  exterritorial- 
ity, 88 ; Chinese  criticism  of,  90,  92  ; 
biographical  sketch  of,  94. 

Cushing  embassy,  personnel  of,  79 ; 
President’s  letter  to  emperor  of 
China  carried  by,  81 ; arrival  of,  at 
Macao,  82 ; departure  of,  from 
China,  93. 

Dana,  Richard  H.,  on  Christian  mis- 
sions in  Hawaiian  Islands,  107. 

Davis,  C.  K.,  one  of  American  com- 
missioners to  negotiate  peace  with 
Spain,  403. 

Davis,  John  W.,  United  States  com- 
missioner to  China,  96,  204  ; career 
of,  205. 

Day,  W.  R.,  one  of  American  commis- 
sioners to  negotiate  peace  with  Spain, 
403. 

De  Long,  C.  E.,  American  minister, 
accompanies  Iwakura  embassy  to 
United  States,  346. 

De  Tocqueville,  on  United  States  as  a 
w'orld  power,  135. 

De  Tromelin,  Admiral,  supports  de- 
mands of  French  consul  at  Hono- 
lulu, 129. 

Delano,  Captain,  visits  Hawaiian  Is- 
lands, 101. 

Denby,  Charles,  minister  to  China,  on 
I audience  question,  272 ; opinion  of, 
on  Chinese  exclusion,  304  ; favorable 
comment  of,  on  missionaries  in  China, 
412  ; on  Dr.  Martin,  420. 

Deshima,  Dutch  factory  at,  11 ; de- 
scription of  island  of,  12 ; foreign 
w'omen  excluded  from,  19. 


INDEX 


483 


Dewey,  Admiral,  effect  of  victory  of, 
at  Manila  Bay  on  policy  of  United 
States,  400 ; qualities  of,  as  diplo- 
matist, 400. 

Diplomatic  officers,  relations  between 
naval  officers  and,  207. 

Dole,  S.  B.,  president  of  Hawaiian  pro- 
visional g'overnment,  377. 

Dolphin  affair  at  Honolulu,  116. 

Dutch,  squadron  arrives  off  Chinese 
coast  (1622),  4;  occupy  Pescadores 
Islands,  4 ; colony  on  Formosa,  5 ; 
reach  Japan  (1600),  7 ; allowed  to 
have  factory  at  Deshima,  11 ; trade 
with  Japan  at  Deshima,  12  ; officials’ 
audience  at  Yedo,  14. 

Dutch  East  India  Company,  Deshima, 
14  ; charters  American  vessel  to  visit 
Japan,  136. 

East  India  Company,  British,  control 
of  China  trade,  22 ; withdrawal  of 
monopoly  of,  over  China  trade,  57 ; 
opium  trade  of,  with  China,  64 ; at- 
tempt to  open  commerce  with  Korea, 
308.. 

Elgin,  Lord,  negotiates  treaty  with 
Japan  (1858),  183  ; opinion  of  Arrow 
War,  224 ; British  representative  in 
China,  232  ; coercive  measures  of,  in 
securing  treaty  with  China,  241. 

E-liang,  Viceroy,  receives  Commis- 
sioner Marshall  and  accepts  Presi- 
dent’s letter  to  emperor,  206. 

Embassy,  Chinese,  to  Western  nations 
(1420),  3;  Portuguese,  to  China 
(1517),  4;  from  Japanese  princes 
visits  Pope,  9 ; Macartney,  to  China, 
22  ; of  Lord  Amherst  to  China  (1815), 
25;  of  Edmund  Roberts  (1832),  46; 
Cushing,  to  China,  79  ; French,  ar- 
rival of,  at  Canton,  80  ; Macartney, 
secretaries  of,  109 ; Amherst,  Mor- 
rison, secretary  of,  110 ; Roberts, 
J.  R.  Morrison  interpreter  of,  110 ; 
from  Japan  to  United  States  (1860), 
184 ; from  Korea  to  the  United 
States,  326  ; Burlingame,  of  China 
to  the  Western  powers,  263;  Japa- 
nese, of  1872,  to  the  United  States 
and  Europe,  345 ; Hawaiian,  to 
Samoa,  374. 

“ Ever  Victorious  Army,”  organized 
and  led  by  General  Ward,  212  ; de- 
cisive influence  of,  on  Taiping  Re- 
bellion, 212 ; Colonel  Gordon  suc- 
ceeds General  Ward  in  command  of, 
212. 


Everett,  Alexander  H.,  United  States 
commissioner  to  China,  96;  letters 
of  credence  to  Japan  given,  142. 

Exclusion  of  Chinese,  see  Chinese  Ex- 
clusion. 

Exclusive  policy  of  China  strength- 
ened, 64. 

Expansion,  of  United  States  in  the  Pa- 
cific prophesied,  135  ; United  States 
intended  no,  at  commencement  of 
Spanish  War,  399;  Seward  prophe- 
sies, of  United  States,  401. 

Exterritoriality,  in  treaty  of  Wang 
Hiya,  87  ; principle  of,  87 ; origin  of, 
88 ; first  application  of,  in  China,  92  ; 
not  reserved  by  United  States  in  first 
treaty  with  Hawaii,  114;  limited  in 
treaty  between  Korea  and  United 
States,  325 ; in  Japanese  treaties, 
344 ; injustice  of  practice  of,  in 
Japan,  354 ; partiality  shown  by 
consuls  in  Japan  in  practice  of,  354  ; 
extreme  application  of,  in  Japan  in 
regard  to  postal  service  and  quaran- 
tine, 355  ; proposed  modification  of, 
in  Japan,  358 ; abolished  in  Japan, 
363. 

Eye  (Superintendent),  59. 

Factories,  foreign,  at  Canton,  42. 

Feudal  system  of  Japan  abolished, 
199. 

Filibustering,  prevalence  of,  in  United 
States,  365. 

Foote,  Lucius  H.,  United  States  minis- 
ter to  Korea,  326. 

Formosa,  Dutch  colony  on,  5 ; Minister 
Parker  suggests  occupation  of,  by 
United  States,  229 ; cession  of,  by 
China  to  Japan,  340. 

France,  early  relations  of,  with  Siam, 
46 ; treaty  between  China  and  (1844), 
95 ; threatens  independence  of  Ha- 
waiian Islands  (1839),  119  ; demands 
of,  on  Hawaii,  l20 ; Hawaiian  inde- 
pendence recognized  by  Great  Brit- 
ain and,  124  ; difficulties  of  Hawaii 
with,  129;  Judd  sent  as  special  Ha- 
waiian commissioner  to,  129  ; sends 
special  commissioner  to  Hawaii 
(1850),  130 ; treaty  between  Japan 
and  (1858),  183 ; war  against  China 
by  England  and  (1857),  233  ; treaty 
between  China  and  (1858),  238,  242 ; 
naval  expedition  of,  to  Korea,  309 ; 
naval  expedition  of,  forced  to  retire 
from  Korea,  310 ; treaty  between 
Korea  and  (1886),  331;  secures  ter- 


484 


INDEX 


ritorial  concessions  in  southern  China, 
415. 

Frye,  W.  P.,  one  of  American  commis- 
missioners  to  neg^otiate  peace  with 
Spain,  403. 

Fur  trade,  American,  with  China,  31 ; 
orig-in  and  growth  of,  99;  method 
of  conducting,  100. 

Greneral  Sherman,  schooner,  burned 
and  crew  killed  by  Koreans,  310. 

Genoa,  duke  of,  attempts  to  communi- 
cate with  king  of  Korea,  322. 

Germany,  attempt  of,  to  enter  into  ne- 
gotiations with  Korea.  318 ; treaty 
between  Korea  and  (1883),  327  ; con- 
sul of,  violates  Japanese  quarantine 
on  plea  of  exterritorial  right,  355 ; 
influence  and  interest  of,  in  Samoa, 
390  ; consul  of,  assumes  control  of 
Samoa,  390 ; high-handed  course  of, 
in  Samoa,  391 ; seizure  of  Kiaochau 
by,  414  ; minister  of,  to  China  mur- 
dered by  Boxers,  419 ; proposes 
China  surrender  to  allies  leaders  of 
Boxer  uprising,  425  ; agreement  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and.  as  to  China. 
426. 

Gibson,  prime  minister  of  Hawaii,  his 
career,  373.  i 

Glynn,  Commander,  sent  to  Japan  to 
demand  surrender  of  shipwrecked 
Americans,  144 ; confers  with  Presi- 
dent on  opening  of  Japan,  146. 

Grant,  General  U.  S.,  note  on  opinion  ] 
of,  as  to  military  power  of  Japan,  I 
342  ; visit  of,  to  japan  in  1879,  350 ; 
aids  in  settling  dispute  between 
China  and  Japan  concerning  Lew  | 
Chew  Islands,  350. 

Gray,  Captain,  discovers  Columbia 
River,  99. 

Gray,  George,  one  of  American  com- 
missioners to  negotiate  peace  with 
Spain,  403. 

Great  Britain,  vessels  of,  arrive  in 
China  (1635),  5 ; subjects  of,  arrive 
in  Japan  (1613),  8;  increased  com- 
mercial supremacy  of,  during  eigh- 
teenth century,  22  ; sends  Lord  Ma- 
cartney as  ambassador  to  China,  22  ; 
sends  embassy  to  China  (1815),  25  ; 
forced  to  surrender  opium  at  Canton, 
69 ; treaty  between  China  and  (18421, 
71 ; sends  consul-general  to  Hawaiian  j 
Islands,  1 13  ; Lord  Russell  compels 
Hawaii  to  negotiate  treaty  ^vith,  121 ; 
Hawaiian  independence  recognized  ! 


by  France  and,  124;  Paulet  compels 
cession  of  Hawaiian  Islands  to,  125 ; 
cession  of  Hawaiian  Islands  to,  dis- 
avowed, 126 ; new  treaty  agreed 
upon  by  Judd  commission  with,  130  ; 
treaty  between  Japan  and  (1854), 
166;  treaty  between  Japan  and 
(1858),  183 ; demands  and  secures 
from  Japan  indemnity  for  murder 
of  Richardson,  189 ; cause  of  Arrow 
War  between  China  and,  223;  war 
against  China  by  France  and  (1857), 
233 ; treaty  between  China  and 
(1858),  238,  242 ; legislation  of, 
against  coolie  trade,  280 ; decL'nes  to 
entertain  proposal  to  suppress  opium 
trade,  297 ; attitude  of,  regarding 
opium  trade  in  China,  299 ; futile  at- 
tempt of,  to  open  intercourse  with 
Korea.  321 ; treaty  between  Korea 
and  (1883),  327 ; leads  in  opposition 
to  revision  of  Japanese  treaties,  356 ; 
prevents  revision  of  Japanese  treat- 
ies, 359 ; finally  favors  revision  of 
Japanese  treaties,  361 ; treaty  be- 
tween Japan  and  (1894),  as  to  revi- 
sion of  treaties,  361 ; attempts  to  se- 
cure joint  guaranty  of  neuti^ity  and 
independence  of  Hawaii,  372  ; China 
leases  Wei-hai-wei  to,  415;  agree- 
ment between  Germany  and.  as  to 
China,  426  ; liberal  trade  policy  of, 
in  the  Orient,  4^16 ; friendship  be- 
tween United  States  and,  437. 

Gros.  Baron.  French  representative  in 
China,  232. 

GutzlafF,  Dr.  Charles,  secretary  for 
British  government  during  Opium 
War,  110  ; with  Morrison's  voyage  to 
Japan,  137 ; on  British  expedition  to 
Korea,  308. 

Harris.  Townsend,  early  life  and  fitness 
of,  for  Japanese  mission.  172;  ap- 
pointed consul-general  to  Japan,  172  ; 
arrives  at  Shimoda,  173;  Japanese 
attempt  to  secure  departure  of,  173 ; 
experiences  of,  at  Shimoda,  174;  ne- 
gotiates treaty  between  Japan  and 
United  States  (1857),  175 ; hermit 
life  of,  at  Shimoda.  175 ; journey  of, 
to  Yedo  to  deliver  President's  letter, 
176;  observance  of  Sunday  by,  178; 
entrance  of,  into  Yedo,  178 ; audi- 
ence of  Shogun  by,  178;  details  of 
treaty  negotiations  of,  with  Japanese 
commissioners.  180 ; success  of,  in 
treaty  negotiations,  181 ; Seward's 


INDEX 


485 


remarks  on  retirement  of,  as  minister, 
185 ; Japanese  appreciation  of  ser- 
vices of,  185  ; great  diplomatic  ser- 
vices of,  1 86  ; puzzled  at  relations  of 
Mikado  and  Shogun,  187  ; opposed 
to  exterritoriality  in  Japan,  352 ; 
tariff  provision  inserted  by,  in  Japa- 
nese treaty,  353. 

Hart,  Sir  Robert,  services  of,  to  China, 
and  bis  treatment  by  Boxers,  420; 
views  of,  on  the  menace  of  China  to 
the  peace  of  the  world,  435. 

Hawaiian  Islands,  discovery  of,  98; 
situation  and  resources  of,  98 ; Amer- 
ican fur  traders  at,  99;  Vancouver 
visits,  100 ; sandalwood  trade  of, 
101 ; first  whale  ship  arrives  at,  102  ; 
increase  of  whaling  vessels  at,  104  ; 
condition  of,  at  time  of  discovery, 

105  ; all  under  rule  of  Kamehameha, 

106  ; American  missionaries  sent  to, 
106;  success  of  Christian  missions, 
106 ; results  of  missionary  work  in, 
108 ; commercial  importance  of,  to 
United  States,  111  ; attempts  of  for- 
eign powers  to  secure  possession  of, 
111;  Vancouver  attempts  to  annex, 
111 ; Earanoff  (Russian)  attempts  to 
annex,  112;  first  consul  of  United 
States  to,  113 ; Charlton,  British  con- 
sul-general to,  113  ; treaty  negotiated 
between  United  States  and  (1826), 
114;  lawlessness  in,  114;  missionary 
and  anti-missionary  parties  in,  115  ; 
disgraceful  proceedings  of  crew  of 
Dolphin  in,  116;  visit  of  the  Vin- 
cennes to,  117  ; relation  of  foreigners 
to  local  laws  of,  118;  France  threat- 
ens independence  of  (1839),  119  ; Ro- 
man Catholic  and  Protestant  contro- 
versy in,  119;  French  troops  landed 
at,  120;  treaty  forced  by  French 
authorities  upon  (1839),  120  ; Lord 
Russell  compels,  to  negotiate  treaty 
with  Great  Britain,  121 ; commis- 
sion sent  from,  to  Europe  and  United 
States,  121 ; President’s  message 
concerning,  122 ; policy  of  United 
States  toward,  declared  by  Webster, 
123 ; joint  declaration  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  France  recognizing  independ- 
ence of,  124 ; Lord  Paulet  threatens 
independence  of,  124 ; Paulet  com- 
pels cession  of,  to  Great  Britain,  125  ; 
proclamation  of  king  on  cession  of, 
to  Great  Britain,  125 ; occupation 
of,  by  British  forces,  125  ; Admiral 
Thomas  disavows  cession  of,  to  Great 


Britain,  126 ; restoration  of,  to  king, 
126 ; controversy  of,  with  United 
States  over  criminal  trials,  127 ; 
treaty  relations  of,  unsatisfactory, 
127  ; treaty  of  United  States  with 
(1849),  128 ; difficulties  of,  with 
France,  129  ; Judd  sent  to  France  as 
special  commissioner  of,  129  ; Judd 
commission  from,  agrees  upon  new 
treaty  with  Great  Britain,  130 ; spe- 
cial French  commissioner  sent  to 
(1850),  130;  provisional  cession  of, 
to  United  States,  130  ; settlement  of 
French  difficulty  with,  131 ; Roman 
Catholics  granted  liberty  in,  131 ; 
ultimate  annexation  of,  to  United 
States  indicated,  365 ; fear  that, 
might  be  occupied  by  American  fili- 
busters, 365 ; rapid  decrease  of  na- 
tives in,  366 ; negotiation  under  Sec- 
retary Marcy  of  annexation  treaty 
with,  366 ; death  of  Kamehameha 
III.  during  negotiation  for  annexa- 
tion of,  to  United  States,  367  ; reci- 
procity treaties  of  (1855  and  1867), 
with  United  States  fail  of  ratifica- 
tion, 367 ; reciprocity  treaty  between 
United  States  and  (1876),  369  ; terri- 
torial integrity  of,  secured,  369 ; 
final  result  of  reciprocity  treaty,  an- 
nexation of,  to  United  States,  370  ; 
sugar-growing  in,  370  ; progress  and 
prosperity  of,  370 ; importation  of 
Portuguese,  Chinese,  and  Japanese 
into,  for  sugar  plantations,  371 ; re- 
newal of  reciprocity  treaty  between 
United  States  and  (1884),  371 ; trans- 
fer Pearl  Harbor  to  United  States 
for  a naval  station,  371 ; United 
States  declines  to  join  in  guaranty 
of  neutrality  and  independence  of, 
372 ; United  States  withholds  ap- 
proval of  alliance  between  Samoa 
and,  373  ; ambitious  schemes  of  Kala- 
kaua,  king  of,  373 ; career  of  Gib- 
son, prime  minister  of,  373  ; embassy 
from,  to  Samoa,  374  ; invited  to  take 
part  in  International  American  Con- 
ference of  1890,  374 ; Kalakaua  dies 
and  Liliuokalani  succeeds  to  throne 
of,  375;  attempted  coup  d’4tat  of 
queen  of,  in  January,  1893,  376  ; re- 
volution of  January  16-17,  1893,  in, 

376  ; monarchy  overthrown  and  pro- 
visional government  established  in, 

377  ; treaty  of  annexation  between 
United  States  and,  negotiated  Feb- 
ruary, 1893,  377 ; annexation  treaty 


486 


INDEX 


of,  withdrawn  by  President  Cleve- 
land, 378;  J.  H.  Blount,  commis- 
sioner to  investigate  revolution  and 
conditions  in,  378 ; American  minister 
to  provisional  goverment  of,  directed 
to  negotiate  with  queen  for  her  re- 
storation, 378 ; negotiations  of  Amer- 
ican minister  with  queen  and  provi- 
sional government  of,  379 ; report 
of  Senator  Morgan  on  revolution  in, 
380 ; constitutional  convention  of, 
380 ; republican  constitution  of,  pro- 
claimed July  4,  1894,  381 ; unex- 
ampled prosperity  of,  under  the  Re- 
public, 381 ; annexation  treaty  be- 
tween United  States  and,  negotiated 
in  1897, 381 ; Japanese  opposition  to 
annexation  of,  to  United  States,  382  ; 
predominance  of  Japanese  in  popula- 
•tion  of,  382 ; joint  resolution  for 
annexation  to  United  States  passed 
July,  1898,  383  ; organized  as  a terri- 
tory of  United  States,  383 ; reasons 
for  annexation  of,  384  ; text  of  joint 
resolution  of  Congress  for  annexing, 
463. 

Hermit  Kingdom,  The,  see  Korea. 

Hong  merchants  at  Canton,  34 ; rela- 
tions of,  with  Lord  Napier,  58. 

Hoppo,  Chinese  official  in  charge  of 
trade  at  Canton,  35. 

Humboldt,  on  influence  of  Isthmus  of 
Panama  on  the  Far  East,  133. 

I Ho  Tuan,  see  Boxers. 

li-Kamon,  Jaijanese  chief  minister  of 
state,  directs  signature  of  Harris 
treaty,  182. 

Immigration  of  Chinese,  see  Chinese 
Immigration. 

Imperial  College,  established,  261 ; Dr. 
Martin,  president  of,  261. 

Inouye  Kaoru,  Count,  early  visit  of,  to 
Europe,  195  ; one  of  Japanese  com- 
missioners to  negotiate  treaty  with 
Korea,  320 ; proposed  compromise 
by,  of 'exterritoriality  in  Japan,  358  ; 
public  feeling  in  Japan  compels,  to 
resign  portfolio,  358. 

International  American  Conference  of 
1890,  Hawaii  invited  to  take  part 
in,  374. 

Ism ailoff,  Russian  ambassador  to  China, 
19 ; reception  of,  at  Peking,  20. 

Ito,  Marquis,  early  visit  of,  to  Europe, 
195 ; negotiates  treaty  with  Li  Hung 
Chang,  332  ; one  of  Japanese  peace 
commissioners  at  Shimonoseki,  340 ; 


vice-ambassador  of  Iwakura  em- 
bassy, 345 ; spokesman  of  Iwakura 
embassy,  346;  on  commercial  pro- 
gress of  Japan,  435. 

Iwakura  embassy,  constitued,  345 ; 
Americans  accompany,  346;  recep- 
tion of,  in  United  States,  346  ; pub- 
lic functions  at  Washington  in  honor 
of,  347  ; negotiations  of,  with  secre- 
tary of  state,  347  ; fruitless  visit  of, 
to  European  capitals,  348. 

Iwakura,  Prince,  Japanese  ambassador 
to  United  States  and  Europe,  345  ; 
character  of,  348. 

Jackson,  President,  letter  of,  to 
Kamehameha  III.,  117 ; letter  from 
Kamehameha  III.  to,  118. 

Japan,  early  relations  of,  with  China 
and  Korea,  2;  early  commerce  of, 
2 ; Pinto  in  1542  discovers,  7 ; Dutch 
vessels  reach  (1600),  7 ; Spaniards 
reach,  7 ; English  arrive  in  (1613), 
8 ; early  European  trade  with,  8 ; 
early  liberal  policy  of,  9 ; Xavier 
and  Jesuits  arrive  in,  9 ; nobles  of, 
visit  Pope  (1582),  9;  edict  of  Sho- 
gun expelling  priests  from,  10 ; re- 
bellion of  native  Christians  in,  11 ; 
exclusive  and  seclusive  policy  estab- 
lished in,  11 ; early  trade  with,  very 
profitable,  12 ; prosperity  of  in  17th 
century,  16  ; opening  of,  133  ; isth- 
mus of  Panama,  bulwark  of  inde- 
pendence of,  133 ; opening  of,  se- 
quence to  operations  in  China,  134  ; 
opening  of,  by  United  States,  pre- 
dicted by  Creasy,  134 ; first  Amer- 
ican vessel  to  visit,  136  ; American 
attempts  to  open  trade  with,  136 ; 
voyage  of  the  Morrison  (1837)  to, 
137 ; voyage  of  the  Manhattan 
(1845)  to,  139;  Roberts  accredited  to, 
but  did  not  proceed  there,  140,  141 ; 
presents  carried  by  Roberts  intended 
for#emperor  of,  141 ; resolution  in 
Congress  in  1845  in  relation  to,  142  ; 
Commodore  Biddle  attempts  to  open 
communication  with,  143 ; Commo- 
dore Biddle  insulted  on  expedition  to, 
143  ; Dr.  Parker  reports  harsh  treat- 
ment of  shipwrecked  Americans  in, 
144 ; the  Preble  visits,  to  demand  sur- 
render of  shipwrecked  Americans, 
144;  cruel  treatment  of  shipwrecked 
Americans  in,  145  ; cause  of  deter- 
mination of  United  States  to  force 
treaty  on,  145 ; American  whalers  in 


INDEX 


487 


waters  of,  145  ; necessity  of  coaling 
station  in,  between  San  Francisco 
and  China,  146;  expedition  to,  see 
Japan  Expedition  ; Perry,  Matthew 
Galbraith;  Aulick  succeeded  by 
Perry  in  command  of  Japan  expe- 
dition, 147  ; consternation  in,  caused 
by  arrival  of  Perry,  151 ; copies  of 
President’s  letter  sent  to  principal 
daimios  of,  159 ; preparations  of,  for 
return  of  Perry,  159  ; negotiation  of 
first  treaty  with,  162 ; treaty  be- 
tween United  States  and  (1854),  164, 
165  ; results  of  Japan  expedition  on, 
166;  treaty  between  Great  Britain 
and  (1854),  166;  treaties  of,  with 
other  nations,  166 ; appreciation  of 
Commodore  Perry’s  service  by,  168 ; 
first  American  vessel  arrives  in,  af- 
ter treaty  is  signed,  171 ; Townsend 
Harris  appointed  consul-general  to, 
172 ; opposition  to  Consul-General 
Harris  in,  175 ; treaty  of  United 
States  with  (1857),  175;  delivery  of 
President’s  letter  to  emperor  of,  by 
Harris,  176 ; treaty  between  United 
States  and  (1858),  182;  treaty  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  (1858),  183 ; 
treaties  of,  with  Russia  and  France 
(1858),  183 ; embassy  from,  to 
United  States  (1860),  184;  relations 
of  Mikado  and  Shogun  in,  187  ; anti- 
foreign  feeling  in,  188  ; murder  of 
secretary  of  United  States  legation 
in,  188;  murder  of  Richardson  in, 
189 ; indemnity  demanded  of,  for 
murder  of  Richardson,  189 ; con- 
tinued anti-foreign  demonstrations 
in,  189 ; American  legation  in, 
burned  by  rioters,  189 ; American 
minister  retires  to  Yokohama  at 
request  of  government  of,  190 ; 
indemnities  paid  by,  for  burning 
of  American  legation  and  murder 
of  secretary,  190 ; Shogun  issues 
order  closing  ports  and  expel- 
ling foreigners  from,  190 ; Ameri- 
can minister  protests  against  order 
expelling  foreigners  from,  191 ; co- 
operative policy  of  United  States 
in,  191 ; Pruyn  induces  withdrawal 
of  order  against  foreigners  in,  192 ; 
Prince  of  Choshiu  closes  strait  of 
Shimonoseki  in,  192 ; indemnity  for 
Shimonoseki  afPair  paid  by,  194 ; 
United  States  returns  share  of  Shi- 
monoseki indemnity  to,  194;  Ito  and 
Inouye  secretly  leave,  for  Europe, 


195 ; effect  of  Richardson  and  Shi- 
monoseki affairs  on  policy  of,  195 ; 
Mikado  sanctions  treaties  between 
powers  and,  195;  repeal  of  decree 
prohibiting  Japanese  from  leaving, 
197 ; return  to  Yedo  of  American 
minister  to,  197 ; contest  between 
Shogun  and  Mikado  for  government 
of,  197 ; Shogun  surrenders  govern- 
ment of,  to  Mikado,  198 ; Shogun’s 
followers  continue  civil  war  in,  198  ; 
Mikado  grants  audience  to  foreign 
ministers  to,  198;  Mutsuhito  be- 
comes Mikado  of,  199 ; daimios  of, 
surrender  feudal  rights  to  Mikado, 
199 ; native  Christians  in,  when  treat- 
ies made,  200  ; hostility  of  govern- 
ment to  native  Christians  in,  200 ; 
United  States  protests  against  hos- 
tility to  Christianity  by  government 
of,  200;  effect  of  reforms  on  inter- 
national relations  of,  201  ; United 
States  foremost  in  development  of, 
201 ; early  relations  of  Korea  with, 
307 ; attempt  of,  to  reinstate  suzer- 
ainty over  Korea,  319 ; treaty  be- 
tween Korea  and  (1876),  320;  Ko- 
rean embassy  to,  321 ; attempt  of, 
to  secure  predominant  influence  in 
Korea,  331 ; rivalry  of,  and  China 
in  Korea  causes  war  of  1894,  332 ; 
places  interests  of  subjects  in  China 
in  hands  of  United  States,  335 ; 
war  of  1894  between  China  and,  see 
Chinese- Japanese  War;  treaty  of 
peace  between  China  and  (1895), 
340 ; cession  to,  by  China  of  Liao- 
tung Peninsula,  Formosa,  and  Pes- 
cadores Islands,  340 ; part  taken  by 
Americans  in  peace  negotiations  be- 
tween China  and,  341 ; letter  of 
thanks  from  emperor  of,  to  Presi- 
dent, 341  ; note  on  Gen.  Grant’s 
opinion  of  military  power  of,  342  ; 
exterritorial  and  tariff  provisions  of 
treaties  with,  344  ; Iwakura  embassy 
to  secure  revision  of  treaties  with, 
345  ; failure  of  Iwakura  embassy  to 
secure  abandonment  of  exterritorial- 
ity by  powers  in,  348  ; course  to  be 
pursued  by,  on  failure  of  Iwakura 
embassy,  349  ; reforms  instituted  in, 
349;  part  taken  by  Americans  in 
reformation  of,  350;  visit  of  Gen. 
Grant  to,  in  1879,  350 ; progress  of 
reforms  in,  351 ; again,  in  1878, 
attempts  to  secure  revision  of  the 
treaties,  352 ; injustice  of  tariff  pro- 


488 


INDEX 


visions  in  treaties  with,  352  ; tariff 
provision  in  Harris  treaty  beneficial 
to,  353 ; tariff  provision  in  British 
treaty,  disastrous  to,  353  ; injustice 
aud  partiality  of  consular  courts  in, 
354  ; extreme  application  of  exterri- 
toriality in  reg'ard  to  postal  service 
and  quarantine  in,  355 ; unavailing 
efforts  of,  to  secure  revision  of  treat- 
ies, 356 ; Great  Britain  leads  in  op- 
position to  revision  of  treaties  of, 
356 ; independent  action  of  United 
States  in  regal'd  to  treaty  revision  j 
with,  357 ; treaty  between  United  : 
States  and  (1878),  357 ; proposes 
modified  form  of  exterritoriality, 
358 ; public  feeling  in,  compels 
Inouye  to  resign,  358;  extradition 
treaty  between  United  States  and 
(1886)  358 ; further  efforts  of,  by 
Okuma  to  secure  treaty  revision  pre- 
vented by  Great  Britain,  359;  pro- 
mulgation of  constitution  of,  360 ; 
effect  of  war  with  China  upon  inter- 
national relations  of,  360 ; treaty  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  (1894),  as 
to  revision  of  treaties,  361 ; opposi- 
tion of  foreign  residents  in,  to  treaty 
revision,  362  ; freed  from  exercise 
of  exterritorial  rights  by  the  powers, 
363  ; extraordinary  progress  of,  364  ; 
laborers  imported  into  Hawaii  from, 
for  sugar  plantations,  371;  protests 
against  annexation  of  Hawaii  to 
United  States,  382;  wonderful  de- 
velopment of,  as  a world  power,  435 ; 
Russia,  the  power  most  feared  by, 
436  ; text  of  treaty  of,  with  United 
States  (1895),  453. 

Japan  expedition,  determined  upon, 
146  ; Aulick  selected  to  command, 
146 ; preparations  for,  147  ; Perry 
succeeds  Aulick  in  command  of, 
147 ; action  of  Dutch  in  relation 
to,  149  ; functions  attending  depar- 
ture of,  149  ; Dr.  Williams,  chief 
interpreter  of,  150 ; enters  Bay  of 
Yedo,  July  8,  1853,  150 ; conster- 
nation caused  by  arrival  of,  at  Yedo, 
151  ; object  of,  explained  to  Japa- 
nese, 152  ; negotiations  of,  with  gov- 
ernor of  Uraga.  153  ; surveying 
parties  from,  advance  toward  Yedo, 
154 ; delivers  President’s  letter  to 
Japanese  princes,  156  ; orderly  con- 
duct of  members  of,  towards  natives, 
158 ; departs  from  Bay  of  Yedo, 
158 ; proceeds  to  China,  159 ; Japa- 


nese preparations  for  return  of,  159 ; 
Perry  determines  to  hasten  return 
of,  to  Japan,  160 ; reenters  Bay  of 
Yedo,  February  12,  1854,  160;  de- 
livery of  presents  brought  by,  163  ; 
Japanese  presents  delivered  to,  163  ; 
banquet  given  Japanese  officials  by, 
164 ; Japanese  dinner  given,  165 ; 
success  of,  166 ; reception  of  treaty 
negotiated  by,  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica, 167  ; Humphrey  Marshall’s  opin- 
ion of  proposed,  207.  See  also  Ferry, 
j Matthew  Galbraith. 

; Jarvis,  John  J.,  Hawaiian  commis- 
sioner, negotiates  treaty  (1849)  with 
United  States,  128. 

Jones,  Captain  Thomas  ap  Catesby, 
negotiates  treaty  for  United  States 
with  Hawaii,  114;  arbitrates  be- 
tween missionary  and  anti-mission- 
ary parties  in  Hawaii,  115. 

Jones,  John  C.,  consul  of  United  States 
to  Hawaii,  113. 

Judd,  Dr.,  sent  as  special  Hawaiian 
commissioner  to  France,  129. 

Kagoshima,  bombarded  and  burned  by 
British  squadron,  189, 

Kalakaua,  visits  Europe,  Asia,  and 
United  States,  373  ; ambitious  ideas 
of,  373 ; death  of,  in  1891,  375. 

Kamehameha,  king  of  island  of  Ha- 
waii, 105 ; becomes  ruler  of  entire 
group,  106. 

Kamehameha  III.,  President's  letter  to, 
117  ; letter  to  President  from,  118; 
death  of,  during  negotiations  for  an- 
nexation to  United  States,  367. 

Kang-wa,  captured  and  burned  by 
French,  309. 

Kauai,  Hawaiian  Island  of,  placed 
under  Russian  protection,  112;  Rus- 
sian fort  on,  destroyed  by  order  of 
Kamehameha,  113. 

Kearny,  Commodore,  course  pursued 
by,  during  Opium  War,  74;  secures 
American  interests  in  China,  75 ; 
protests  against  British  occupation 
of  Hawaii,  125. 

Kendrick,  Captain,  voyages  of,  99. 

Kiakta,  Russia  fur  trade  at.  31. 

Kiaochau,  seizure  of,  by  Germany,  414. 

Kido,  vice-ambassador  of  Iwakura  em- 
bassy, 345. 

Kioto,  Mikado’s  court  at,  187  ; Shogun 
visits  Mikado  at,  190. 

Kiying,  Chinese  high  commissioner  to 
negotiate  treaty  with  Cushing,  85 ; 


INDEX 


489 


at  Tientsin  in  1858  during  negotia- 
tion of  treaties,  239 ; character  and 
death  of,  240. 

Korea,  early  relations  of,  with  Japan, 
2 ; resolution  in  Congress  in  1845  in 
relation  to,  142  ; styled  “ Naboth’s 
Vineyard  of  the  Far  East,”  307  ; early 
relations  of,  with  China  and  Japan, 
307 ; British  East  India  Company 
attempts  to  open  commerce  with, 
308  ; first  effort  to  introduce  Chris- 
tianity into,  309 ; persecution  of 
Chrisdans  in,  309  ; French  naval  ex- 
pedition to,  309 ; French  forces  com- 
pelled to  retire  from,  310 ; the  Gen- 
eral Sherman  burned  and  crew  killed 
in,  310 ; kindly  treatment  of  ship- 
wrecked Americans  in,  311 ; Consul- 
General  Seward  advises  attempt  to 
open  relations  with,  312 ; American 
nainister  to  China  directed  to  nego- 
tiate with,  313  ; naval  expedition  of 
United  States  to,  313 ; notified  by 
Tsung-li  Yamen  of  American  expe- 
dition, 314 ; American  expedition 
appears  off  coast  of,  314;  American 
vessels  fired  upon  by  forts  of,  314 ; 
on  failure  of,  to  apologize  Americans 
destroy  forts,  315  ; communication  of 
official  of,  with  Minister  Low,  315 ; 

. failure  of  American  expedition  to, 
due  to  incorrect  information,  316; 
Consul-General  Seward’s  informa- 
tion as  to,  from  adventurers,  317 ; 
attempts  of  Russia  and  Germany  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with,  318 ; at- 
tempt of  Japan  to  reinstate  suzer- 
ainty over,  319;  independence  of, 
recognized  by  Japan,  320  ; treaty  be- 
tween Japan  and  (1876),  320;  efforts 
of,  to  prevent  strangers  from  visiting 
shores,  320  ; China  disclaims  control 
over,  320 ; embassy  of  to  Japan,  321 ; 
visited  by  Russian,  British,  and 
French  naval  vessels,  321 ; British 
failure  to  open  intercourse  with,  321 ; 
duke  of  Genoa  attempts  to  commu- 
nicate with  king  of,  322  ; delegation 
from,  to  Li  Hung  Chang  advised  to 
make  treaty  with  United  States,  323  ; 
Senator  Sargent  introduces  resolu- 
tion to  send  commissioner  to,  323  ; 
Shufeldt  makes  futile  visit  to,  324; 
United  States  legation  at  Peking  in- 
formed of  willingness  of,  to  make 
treaty,  324 ; treaty  between  United 
States  and  (1882),  324;  exterritorial 
rights  of  United  States  in,  325  ; Foote, 


first  American  minister  to,  326  ; em- 
bassy from,  sent  to  United  States, 
326;  treaties  negotiated  by  Great 
Britain  and  Germany  with,  327  ; ap- 
points minister  to  United  States,  327  ; 
China  interdicts,  from  sending  min- 
ister to  United  States,  327 ; incon- 
sistent attitude  of  China  toward, 328  ; 
China  claims  subordination  of  min- 
isters of,  329 ; United  States  opposes 
and  ignores  China’s  attitude  as  to 
ministers  of,  329  ; friendly  attitude 
of,  toward  United  States,  329 ; 
American  aid  in  transformation  of, 
330 ; missions  in,  330 ; treaty  be- 
tween France  and  (1886),  331 ; Jap- 
anese attempt  to  secure  predominant 
influence  in,  331  ; Japanese  and  Chi- 
nese intrigues  in,  332  ; China  resists 
Japanese  attempt  to  secure  influence 
in,  332  ; rivalry  of  China  and  Japan 
causes  war  of  1894,  332  ; caiise  of 
Chinese- Japanese  War,  see  Chinese- 
Japanese  War;  appeals  to  United 
States  to  intervene  to  secure  its  inde- 
pendence, 333 ; independence  of, 
recognized  by  Chinese-Japanese 
peace  treaty,  340 ; new  danger  to, 
after  Chinese-Japanese  War,  342. 

Kotou  or  kowtow,  Ismailoff  performs, 
20  ; Lord  Amherst  refuses  to  per- 
form, 25  ; Minister  Ward  declines  to 
perform,  250. 

Krusenstern,  attempt  of,  to  trade  at 
Canton,  21  ; opinion  of,  of  American 
enterprise,  29. 

Kung,  Prince,  president  of  Tsung-li 
Yamen,  256 ; character  of,  256. 

Kweiliang  receives  from  Ward  Presi- 
dent’s letter  for  delivery  to  emperor, 
251  ; member  of  Tsung-li  Yamen, 
257. 

Lagoda,  the,  imprisonment  of  crew  of, 
by  Japanese,  144. 

Land  of  the  Morning  Calm,  see  Korea. 

L’Artemise  affair,  119. 

Lawrence,  the,  imprisonment  of  crew 
of,  by  Japanese,  144. 

Letter  of  sultan  of  Muscat  to  Presi- 
dent, 53  ; of  President  to  Kameha- 
meha  III.,  117  ; of  Kamehameha  III. 
to  President  Jackson,  118;  from 
President  to  emperor  of  Japan  de- 
livered at  Uraga,  156  ; of  Li  Hung 
Chang  regarding  opium  trade,  297. 

Lew  Chew  Islands,  Perry  recommends 
occupation  of,  by  United  States,  229  ; 


490 


INDEX 


Gen.  Grant  aids  Japan  and  China  in 
settling  dispute  concerning,  350. 

Liaotung  Peninsula  cession  of,  by 
China  to  Japan,  340. 

Liholiho,  king  of  Hawaiian  Islands, 
106. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  letter  of,  regarding 
opium  trade,  297 ; advises  Koreans 
to  make  treaty  with  United  States, 
323 ; announces  China’s  policy  as  to 
Korean  ministers,  328 ; Chinese  peace 
commissioner  at  Shimonoseki,  340 ; 
appointed  plenipotentiary  to  nego- 
tiate peace  with  allies,  424 ; on  cause 
of  Boxer  uprising,  416 ; removed  as 
member  of  Tsung-li  Yamen,  417. 

LUiuokalani  succeeds  Kalakaua  as 
ruler  of  Hawaii,  375  ; character  of, 
375 ; attempted  coup  d’etat  of,  in 
January.  1893,  376  ; dethroned,  377  ; 
declares  that  she  would  behead  revo- 
lutionists, if  restored  to  power,  379. 

Lin,  Chinese  commissioner  to  suppress 
opium  trade,  68 ; destroys  opium 
seized,  70. 

Linguist,  in  trade  at  Canton,  34. 

Lodge,  Senator,  argument  of,  for  Chi- 
nese exclusion,  303. 

Looting,  of  Cantonese  palaces  by  Brit- 
ish (1856),  228. 

Luzon,  Island  of,  American  commis- 
sioners instructed  to  demand  cession 
of,  403. 

Macartney,  Lord,  embassy  of,  to  China, 

22. 

Macao,  Portuguese  establishment  at, 
33. 

Malietoa,  king  of  Samoa,  389 ; and 
chiefs  accept  Berlin  Act,  394  ; death 
of,  395. 

Malietoa  Tanu  declared  king  of  Samoa 
by  chief  justice,  396. 

Manhattan,  The,  enters  Bay  of  Yedo 
(1845),  139. 

Manila  Bay,  effect  of  victory  of,  on 
policy  of  United  States,  400. 

Marcy,  William  L.,  conservative  policy 
of,  as  Secretary  of  State,  in  relation 
to  China,  229 ; directs  American 
minister  to  propose  annexation  of 
Hawaii,  366. 

Marshall,  Humphrey,  United  States 
commissioner  to  China,  205  ; efforts 
of,  to  secure  interview  with  Chinese 
commissioner,  205 ; received  by 
E-liang,  206 ; disagreements  be- 
tween, and  Commodores  Aulick  and 


Perry,  206;  futile  efforts  of,  to  in- 
terview Commissioner  Yeh,  213 ; re- 
call of,  213. 

Martin,  Dr.  W.  A.  P.,  on  the  Opium 
War,  73 ; assists  in  negotiation  of 
treaty  of  1858  between  China  and 
United  States,  239 ; president  of 
Imperial  College,  261 ; treatment  of, 
during  Boxer  uprising,  420. 

Mataafa,  rival  for  Samoan  kingship, 
390. 

McCarthy,  Justin,  on  the  Opium  War, 
74. 

McCulloch,  Hugh,  opinion  of,  as  to  Dr. 
Peter  Parker,  230. 

McKinley,  President,  problems  to  be 
solved  by,  at  close  of  Spanish  War, 
402  ; change  of  policy  of,  as  to  Phil- 
ippines, 404. 

McLane,  Robert  M.,  minister  of  United 
States,  visits  headquarters  of  Taiping 
leader,  210 ; visit  of,  misinterpreted 
as  act  of  homage,  210 ; views  of, 
as  to  Taiping  Rebellion,  211 ; indig- 
nation of,  at  treatment  by  Chinese 
high  commissioner,  214 ; proceeds  to 
Shanghai,  215  ; communicates  with 
Viceroy  E-liang,  215 ; resigns  as 
minister  to  China,  219. 

Mikado,  relations  between  Shogun  and, 
187,  196;  Shogun  visits,  at  Kioto, 
190 ; sanctions  treaties  of  Japan  with 
powers,  195 ; Mutsuhito  becomes, 
199  ; Shogun  surrenders  government 
to,  198  ; grants  audience  to  ministers 
and  transfers  capital  to  Yedo,  198; 
takes  the  “ charter  oath,”  199. 

Missionaries,  early  French,  to  China,  6 ; 
edict  expelling  Jesuit,  from  Japan, 
10  ; American,  sent  to  Hawaiian  Is- 
lands, 106 ; success  of,  in  Hawaiian 
Islands,  107  ; diversity  of  opinion  as 
to,  in  the  Orient,  109 ; services  of, 
as  interpreters  to  embassies,  109 ; 
and  their  opponents  in  Hawaii,  1 15  ; 
Tientsin  riots  against  French,  268  ; 
Korea  visited  by  French,  309 ; in 
Samoa,  386 ; usefulness  of,  in  China, 
socially  and  politically,  411. 

Missions,  in  Korea,  330;  French  inter- 
pretation of  treaty  provision  relative 
to,  in  Korea,  331  ; in  China.  409. 
See  also  Christianity ; Missionaries. 

Morgan,  John  T.,  report  of,  upon  Ha- 
waiian revolution,  in  the  Senate,  380. 

IMorrison,  J.  R.,  services  as  interpreter 
to  Roberts’s  embassy,  110. 

Morrison,  Dr.  Robert,  interpreter  of 


INDEX 


491 


Amherst  embassy,  110;  invited  to 
come  to  China  by  D.  W.  C.  Olyphant, 
137. 

Morrison,  The,  voyage  of,  to  Japan 
(1837),  137. 

Morton,  Oliver  P.,  chairman  of  com- 
mittee of  Congress  on  Chinese  immi- 
gration, 286;  death  of,  and  report 
in  favor  of  Chinese  immigration,  289. 

Muscat,  Roberts  sent  on  mission  to,  46 ; 
extent  of  sultanate  of,  51 ; reception 
of  Roberts  at,  52  ; treaty  of  United 
States  with,  52  ; letter  of  sultan  of, 
to  President,  53. 

Mutsu,  Count,  one  of  Japanese  peace 
commissioners  at  Shimonoseki,  340. 

Mutsuhito,  becomes  Mikado,  199. 

Nagasaki,  location  of  Dutch  factory, 
11;  Preble  enters  harbor  of  (1849), 
144. 

Nanking,  capture  of,  by  Taipings,  208 ; 
Roberts  visits  Taiping  court  at,  210. 

Napier,  Lord,  chief  superintendent  of 
British  trade  in  China,  57  ; attempts 
to  communicate  with  Chinese  offi- 
cials at  Canton,  58 ; governor’s  letter 
refusing  to  receive,  59 ; requested 
to  withdraw  to  Macao,  60 ; commu- 
nications of,  with  Chinese  governor, 
.61  ; withdraws  from  Canton,  62 ; 
illness  and  death  of,  at  Macao,  62. 

Naval  officers,  relations  between  diplo- 
matic officers  and,  207. 

Nevius,  Dr.,  on  the  Opium  War,  73. 

Northwest  coast,  American  trade  be- 
tween China  and,  31 ; American 
ships  on,  99. 

Okuba,  vice-ambassador  of  Iwakura 
embassy,  345. 

Okuma,  Count,  succeeds  Inouye  as 
.minister  of  foreign  affairs  of  Japan, 
359  ; opinion  of  future  of  Japan,  436. 

Olyphant  & Co.,  send  vessel  to  Japan, 
137. 

Olyphant,  D.  W.  C.,  American  mer- 
chant at  Canton,  137. 

“ Open  Door  ” policy.  Secretary  Hay’s 
circular  note  in  favor  of,  in  China, 
432. 

Opium,  Chinese  on  use  of,  65  ; deliv- 
ered by  British  superintendent  to 
Chinese,  69 ; seized  and  destroyed 
by  Chinese,  70. 

Opium  trade,  commencement  of,  in 
China,  64 ; imperial  edict  (1796) 
against,  65 ; illicit,  in  China,  66 ; 


large  increase  in,  66  ; large  profits 
from,  66 ; increased  efforts  of  Chinese 
to  suppress,  67 ; increase  of  illicit,  67 ; 
Lin,  Chinese  commissioner  to  sup- 
press, 68 ; stringent  prohibitions 
against,  68 ; Chinese  close  foreign 
factories  to  stop,  69;  not  adjusted 
by  Anglo-Chinese  treaty  (1842),  71 ; 
United  States  by  treaty  with  China 
prohibits,  295 ; communication  of 
W^.  N.  Pethick  on,  295  ; Great  Brit- 
ain declines  to  entertain  proposal  of 
China  to  prohibit,  297 ; Li  Hung 
Chang’s  letter  regarding,  297  ; op- 
position of  United  States  to,  298 ; 
Lord  Elgin  opposes  prohibition 
clause  in  United  States  treaty  of 
1858,  299. 

Opium  War,  causes  of,  64;  course  of, 
70  ; moral  aspects  of,  72. 

Pacific  Ocean,  European  occupation  of 
islands  of,  26  ; whale  fishery  in,  104  ; 
Seward’s  prophecy  as  to  importance 
of,  135. 

Pacific  Railroad,  Chinese  laborers  work 
on,  283. 

Pago  Pago  Harbor,  cession  of,  by  Sa- 
moa to  United  States  not  acted  on 
by  Senate,  888  ; Tutuila,  in  which  is, 
transferred  to  United  States,  397. 

Palmerston,  Lord,  on  ultimate  annex- 
ation of  Hawaii  to  United  States, 
368. 

Panama,  Isthmus  of,  bulwark  of  China 
and  Japan,  133. 

Parker,  Dr.  Peter,  urges  in  1841  send- 
ing minister  to  China,  77  ; secretary 
of  Cushing  embassy,  79  ; on  Morri- 
son’s voyage  to  Japan,  138  ; reports 
harsh  treatment  of  shipwrecked 
Americans  in  Japan,  144 ; charg4 
d’affaires  of  United  States  in  China, 
205 ; again  becomes  charg4,  219 ; 
visits  United  States,  221 ; appointed 
commissioner  to  China,  221  ; indig- 
nation at  Yeh  in  avoiding  interview, 
221  ; plan  of,  to  avoid  war  in  Cliina, 
229 ; retires  as  minister  to  China, 
230  ; life  of,  after  retirement,  230  ; 
McCulloch’s  opinion  of,  230. 

Paulet,  Lord  George,  threatens  Ha- 
waiian independence,  124;  compels 
cession  of  Hawaiian  Islands  to  Great 
Britain,  125. 

Pearl  Harbor,  transferred  by  Haw*aii 
to  United  States  for  a naval  station, 
371 ; protest  of  British  minister 


492 


INDEX 


to  cession  of,  by  Hawaii  to  United 
States,  872. 

Peiho,  foreign  ministers  arrive  at 
mouth  of,  216 ; reception  of  foreign 
ministers  by  Chinese  commissioner 
on  banks  of,  217  ; failure  of  confer- 
ence and  departure  of  foreign  min- 
isters from,  218  ; foreign  ministers 
proceed  to,  236  ; Ameiican,  French, 
and  British  arrive  at  mouth  of,  246  ; 
channel  of,  obstructed  by  Chinese, 
246 ; battle  of,  between  China  and 
allies,  247. 

Peking,  Cushing  directed  to  reach,  if 
possible,  81 ; Cushing  abandons  idea 
of  reaching,  87  ; Cushing  criticised 
for  not  attempting  to  reach,  93 ; 
Minister  Ward  at,  249 ; Minister 
Ward  leaves,  without  exchange  of 
ratifications,  252  ; captured  by  allied 
forces,  254 ; siege  of  the  legations 
in,  419. 

Perry,  Matthew  Calbraith,  147 ; suc- 
ceeds Aulick  in  command  of  Japan 
expedition,  147  ; banquet  given,  on 
sailing  of  Japan  expedition,  149 ; 
seclusive  policy  of,  in  dealing  with 
Japanese,  152 ; religious  custom  of, 
154 ; firnaness  of,  in  dealing  with 
Japanese,  155  ; ceremonious  delivery 
of  President’s  letter  by,  156  ; informs 
Japanese  he  will  return  the  follow- 
ing spring,  157  ; determines  to  hasten 
his  return  to  Japan,  160;  resolute 
course  of,  in  regard  to  place  of  nego- 
tiation, 161 ; negotiations  of,  with 
Japanese  plenipotentiaries,  162 ; ban- 
quets Japanese  officials,  164 ; suc- 
cess of,  in  his  mission  to  Japan,  166  ; 
Japanese  appreciation  of  services  of, 
168  ; dedication  of  Japanese  monu- 
ment to,  169 ; disagreement  with 
Minister  Marshall,  206.  See  also 
Japan  Expedition. 

Peru,  treatment  of  Chinese  coolies  in, 
276;  coolies  in,  petition  American 
legation  for  aid,  278. 

Pescadores  Islands,  Dutch  occupy,  4 ; 
cession  of,  by  China  to  Japan,  340. 

Pethick,  W.  N.,  secretary  of  Li  Hung 
Chang,  on  opium  trade,  295 ; sketch 
of  his  life,  295. 

Philippines,  occupied  by  Spaniards 
(1-543),  6;  disposition  of,  at  close  of 
Spanish  War,  a problem,  402  ; per- 
plexity of  President  regarding,  402  ; 
instructions  of  American  commis- 
sioners regarding,  403 ; attitude  of 


American  commissioners  in  regard 
to,  404 ; conferences  at  Paris  between 
commissioners  regarding,  404 ; efiFect 
of  President’s  Western  trip  on  acqui- 
sition of,  404  ; reasons  advanced  for 
United  States  acquiring,  405 ; Spain 
cedes,  to  United  States,  405 ; trou- 
bles in  China  closely  following  ces- 
sion of,  to  United  States,  407  ; acqui- 
sition of,  makes  United  States  an 
Asiatic  power,  438. 

Port  Arthur,  seizure  of,  by  Kussia, 
414. 

Portuguese,  arrive  in  China,  4 ; out- 
rages in  China,  4;  visit  Japan  (1542) 
7 ; establishment  at  Macao,  33 ; im- 
ported from  Azores  for  Hawaiian 
sugar  plantations,  371. 

Preble,  The,  Expedition  of,  to  Japan, 
144. 

Protocol  of  August  12,  1898,  between 
Spain  and  United  States,  402  ; text 
of,  468. 

Pruyn,  Robert  H.,  appointed  minister 
to  Japan,  89  ; refuses  to  leave  Yedo 
after  burning  of  legation,  190  ; re- 
tires to  Yokohama  at  request  of 
Japanese  government,  190. 

Reed,  William  B.,  succeeds  Dr.  Parker 
as  minister  to  China,  231 ; political 
reasons  for  appointment  of,  231 ; 
commissioned  as  minister  instead  of 
commissioner,  231 ; fails  to  secure 
interview  with  Commissioner  Yeh, 
233 ; resigns  as  minister  to  China 
and  returns  home,  244 ; opinion  of, 
respecting  Dr.  Williams,  273. 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  one  of  American 
commissioners  to  negotiate  peace 
with  Spain,  403. 

Richardson,  murder  of,  by  Japanese, 
189. 

Roberts,  Edmund,  urges  protection  of 
American  commerce  in  Pacific,  45  ; 
sent  on  mission  to  Siam,  Muscat, 
and  Annam,  46 ; treatment  of,  at 

■ Canton,  47 ; attempted  negotiations 
of,  at  Annam,  48 ; reception  of,  in 
Siam,  49 ; reception  of,  at  Muscat, 
52 ; exchanges  ratifications  of  Siam- 
ese treaty,  54 ; death  and  services 
of,  at  Macao,  55 ; furnished  with 
letters  of  credence  to  emperor  of 
Japan,  140,  141  ; presents  intended 
for  emperor  of  Japan  carried  by, 
141. 

Roberts,  Rev.  J.  J.,  relations  of,  to 


INDEX 


493 


Taiplng  Rebellion,  209  ; visits  Tai- 
ping  court  at  Nankin,  210. 

Rock  Springs,  indemnity  for  anti- 
Chinese  riots  at,  301. 

Rockhill,  W.  W.,  sent  as  special  com- 
missioner to  China  during  siege  of 
legations,  424 ; on  departure  of 
Conger  from  China,  assumes  charge 
of  peace  negotiations,  428. 

Rodgers,  Admiral,  in  command  of  ex- 
pedition to  Korea,  314. 

Rome,  Japanese  Christians  visit,  9. 

Russia,  early  relations  of  China  and, 
16;  war  between  China  and,  17th 
century,  17 ; treaty  of,  1689,  with 
China,  17 ; envoy  from,  to  Peking 
(1693),  18;  envoy  from,  to  Peking 
(1719),  19;  early  trade  of  Cliina 
with,  21 ; treaty  of,  1727,  with,  21  ; 
Hawaiian  island  of  Kauai  placed 
under  protection  of,  112 ; treaty 
between  Japan  and  (1855),  166 ; 
treaty  between  Japan  and  (1858), 
183 ; treaty  between  China  and 
(1858),  238,  242 ; attempt  of,  to 
enter  into  negotiations  with  Korea, 
318;  increasing  influence  of,  in  far 
East,  342 ; seizure  of  Port  Arthur 
by,  414;  announces  that  it  has  no 
intention  to  acquire  Chinese  terri- 
tory, 425 ; the  power  most  feared  by 
China  and  Japan,  436. 

Samoa,  United  States  withholds  ap- 
proval of  alliance  between  Hawaii 
and,  373  ; embassy  from  Hawaii  to, 
374 ; missionaries  in,  386  ; arrival  of 
traders  in,  387 ; first  attention  of 
United  States  called  to,  387  ; cession 
of  Pago  Pago  harbor  by,  to  United 
States,  not  acted  on  by  Senate,  388 ; 
Steinberger  sent  as  agent  of  United 
States  to,  388;  Steinberger  reports 
and  is  again  sent  to,  388;  Stein- 
berger becomes  premier  of,  and  is 
deported,  388 ; United  States  de- 
clines protectorate  over,  389;  trea- 
ties of,  with  United  States  (1878) 
and  other  countries,  389;  disorders 
in,  over  kingship,  389  ; German  in- 
terest and  influence  in,  390 ; Ameri- 
can consul  raises  flag  over,  390 ; 
German  consul  assumes  control  of 
government  of,  390 ; American  con- 
sul second  time  proclaims  protecto- 
rate over,  390 ; conference  at  Wash- 
ington concerning,  between  United 
States,  Great  Britain,  and  Germany, 


391  ; failure  of  conference  to  reach 
an  agreement  regarding,  391 ; Ger- 
many dethrones  Malietoa  and  in- 
stalls Tamasese  as  king  of,  392  ; 
American  squadron  sent  to,  de- 
stroyed by  hurricane  at  Apia,  392; 
desire  of  United  States  to  preserve 
independence  of,  392  ; conference  at 
Berlin  in  reference  to,  between 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  and 
Germany,  393  ; instructions  to  Amer- 
ican commissioners  at  Berlin  Con- 
ference concerning,  393  ; agreement 
reached  by  Berlin  Conference  as  to, 
394 ; joint  protectorate  over,  by 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  and 
Germany,  394 ; unsatisfactory  opera- 
tion of  tripartite  protectorate,  395 ; 
civil  war  in,  following  death  of  Ma- 
lietoa, 396 ; foreign  sympathy  with 
rivals  for  kingship,  396 ; joint  com- 
mission sent  to,  by  United  States, 
Great  Britain,  and  Germany,  396 ; re- 
port of  joint  commission  on,  and  tri- 
partite protectorate  abandoned,  397 ; 
partition  of,  397  ; efforts  and  failure 
of  United  States  to  preserve  inde- 
pendence of,  397 ; lesson  from  at- 
tempted joint  control  of,  398;  text 
of  treaty  of  1899,  between  United 
States,  Germany,  and  Great  Britain, 
regarding,  466. 

Sandalwood,  Hawaiian  trade  in,  101 ; 
value  of  trade  in,  to  Hawaiian 
Islands,  101 ; exhaustion  of  supply 
of,  in  Hawaiian  Islands,  102. 

Sandwich  Islands,  see  Hawaiian 
Islands. 

Sargent,  Senator,  submits  report  of 
committee  on  Chinese  immigration, 
287  ; introduces  resolution  to  send  a 
commissioner  to  Korea,  323. 

Satsuma,  Prince  of,  Richardson  mur- 
dered by  followers  of,  189 ; refuses 
to  pay  indemnity  demanded  for 
murder,  189 ; capital  of,  bombarded 
by  British  squadron,  189. 

Scott  Act,  relating  to  Chinese  exclu- 
sion, 301. 

Sen  Ki-yu,  book  of,  on  Western  civili- 
zation, 259  ; eulogy  of,  on  Washing- 
ton, 260 ; degraded  on  account  of 
book,  260 ; reinstated  and  made 
member  of  Tsung-li  Y amen,  260 ; 
presented  by  United  States  with 
portrait  of  Washington,  261. 

Seward,  George  F.,  consul-general  at 
Shanghai,  advises  attempt  to  open 


494 


INDEX 


relations  'witli  Korea,  312 ; inform- 
ants of,  as  to  Korea,  a party  of  ad- 
venturers, 317. 

Seward,  William  H.,  on  expansion  of 
United  States  in  Pacific,  135 ; re- 
marks of,  on  retirement  of  Harris  as 
minister  to  Japan,  185  ; favors  an 
nexation  of  Hawaii,  367 ; prophesies 
expansion  of  United  States  in,  401. 

Shanghai,  rising  commercial  impor- 
tance of,  96  ; capture  of  Chinese  city 
of,  by  Taipin^,  208. 

Shaw,  Samuel,  first  visit  of,  to  China, 
27  ; report  of,  to  Jay,  31  ; appointed 
first  American  consul  at  Canton,  32 ; 
death  of,  38. 

Shimmi,  Japanese  envoy,  expresses 
views  on  Western  civilization,  185. 

Shimoda,  vessels  only  permitted  to 
enter  at,  172 ; Townsend  Harris  ap- 
pointed consul-general  to  reside  at, 
172 ; Harris  arrives  at,  173. 

Shimonoseki,  affair  of,  192 ; American 
vessel  fired  on  in  strait  of,  193  ; 
United  States  naval  steamer  en- 
gages batteries  at,  193  ; joint  naval 
expedition  of  powers  silence  bat- 
teries at,  193  ; indemnity  paid  by 
Japan  for  affair  at,  194;  United 
States  returns  to  Japan  share  of  in- 
demnity for  affair  at,  194;  peace 
negotiations  at,  between  China  and 
Japan,  340. 

Shogun,  audience  of,  by  Dutch  officials, 
14 ; audience  of,  by  Harris.  178 ; op- 
position to,  on  account  of  treaties 
with  W estern  nations,  187 ; rela- 
tions between  Mikado,  and,  187, 196  ; 
visits  Mikado  at  Kioto,  190 ; sur- 
renders government  to  Mikado,  198. 

Ships,  outfit  of,  engaged  in  China 
trade,  30. 

Shufeldt,  Commodore  R.  W.,  sent  to 
Chinese  seas  instructed  to  make 
treaty  with  Korea,  323 ; negotiates 
treaty  with  Korea,  324 ; experience 
and  service  of,  325. 

Siam,  early  French  relations  with,  46 ; 
Roberts  sent  on  mission  to,  46 ; re- 
ception of  Roberts  at,  49 ; treaty  of 
United  States  with  (1833),  50;  ex- 
change of  ratifications  of  United 
States  treaty  with,  54;  Townsend 
Harris  negotiates  new  treaty  with, 
172. 

Simpson,  Sir  George,  one  of  Hawaiian 
commissioners  to  Europe  and  United 
States,  121. 


Snow,  Samuel,  American  consul  at 
Canton,  38. 

Spain,  occupies  Philippines,  6 ; vessels 
of,  visit  Japan,  7 ; war  between 
United  States  and,  399 ; truce  pro- 
tocol between  United  States  and, 
402 ; cedes  Philippines  to  United 
States,  405 ; text  of  protocol  of 
August  12,  1898,  and  treaty  of  peace 
between  United  States  and,  468. 
Spanish  War,  influence  of,  upon  the 
annexation  of  Hawaii,  383 ; policy  of 
the  United  States  at  commencement 
of,  399;  territory  held  by  United 
States  at  close  of,  400  ; negotiations 
of  peace  at  conclusion  of,  403. 
Spheres  of  influence  in  China,  agree- 
ments between  Russia  and  Great 
Britain,  and  Germany  and  Great 
Britain  as  to,  415 ; Secretary  Hay’s 
note  in  favor  of  “open  door”  and 
against,  432. 

Steinberger,  A.  B.,  sent  to  Samoa  as 
agent  of  United  States  to  report 
conditions,  388  ; becomes  premier  of 
1 Samoan  king  and  is  deported,  388. 

! Sumatra,  murder  of  crew  of  Friendship 
j in,  45. 

j Sugar-growing,  in  Hawaii,  370. 

I Swift,  John  T.,  one  of  commission  to 
negotiate  treaty  of  immigration 
with  China,  294. 

Taiping  Rebellion,  extent  of,  208; 

] origin  and  leader  of,  209 ; condition 
} of,  in  1853, 210 ; McLane  visits  head- 
i quarters  of  rebels  to  study  condition 
I of,  210;  insulting  address  to  McLane 
j by  leader  of,  210 ; McLane’s  views 
upon,  211 ; progress  of,  and  cause 
I of  its  failure,  211  ; attitude  of  United 
I States  towards,  211 ; services  of  Gen- 
I eral  Ward  and  his  “ Ever  Victorious 
j Army  ” in  suppressing,  212  ; neu- 
j trality  of  United  States  during,  220. 

' Taku  Forts,  British  and  French  allies 
I demand  surrender  of,  237 ; taken  by 
' assault,  238 ; repulse  of  British  and 
I French  forces  at,  247  ; successfully 
1 assaulted  by  allies,  254 ; bombard- 
j ment  of,  by  allies  during  Boxer  up- 
rising, 419. 

I Talienwan,  China  leases  port  of,  to 
j Russia,  415. 

Tamasese,  rival  for  Samoan  kingship, 
1 389. 

: Tariff,  in  Anglo-Chinese  treaty  (1842), 
I 76;  provisions  relating  to,  in  Japa- 


INDEX 


495 


nese  treaties,  345  ; fixed  in  Japanese 
treaties,  352. 

Tatnall,  Commodore,  part  taken  by, 
at  battle  of  the  Peiho,  247 ; famous 
saying  of,  248. 

Terranova  affair,  40. 

Thomas,  Admiral,  disavows  act  of  ces- 
sion of  Hawaii  (1843)  to  Great  Brit- 
ain, 126. 

Tientsin,  foreign  ministers  arrive  at, 
238  ; negotiation  of  treaties  of  1858 
at,  238 ; riots  at,  in  1870,  268 ; at- 
tack on  foreigners  at,  in  1900,  419. 

Tokio,  name  of  Yedo  changed  to,  198. 

Trade,  overland,  of  China  with  Russia, 
21 ; early  European,  with  Japan,  12  ; 
of  East  India  Company  with  China, 
22  ; course  of  American,  with  China, 
30  ; conduct  of,  at  Canton,  33  re- 
strictions on,  at  Canton,  35  ; regula- 
lations  relaxed  in  China,  41 ; em- 
barassments  of,  at  Canton,  43 ; in- 
crease of  United  States,  following 
treaties,  95 ; Hawaiian,  in  sandal- 
wood, 101.  See  also  China  Trade; 
Fur  Trade;  Opium  Trade. 

Treaty,  between  Russia  and  China 
(1689),  17 ; between  Russia  and 
China  (1727),  21 ; United  States, 
with  Siam  (1833),  50  ; United  States, 
with  Muscat,  52  ; exchange  of  rati- 
fications of  United  States,  with  Siam, 
54  ; of  peace  between  Great  Britain 
and  China  (1842),  71 ; tariff  in  Anglo- 
Chinese  (1842),  76  ; of  Wang  Hiya, 
between  China  and  United  States 
(1844),  86 ; of  Wang  Hiya,  impor- 
tance of,  89 ; of  France  with  China 
(1844),  95 ; negotiated  between 

Hawaii  and  United  States  (1826), 
114,121,128;  forced  from  Hawai- 
ian government  by  French  authori- 
ties (1839),  120  ; negotiated  by  Lord 
Russell  with  Hawaii  under  compul- 
sion, 121 ; criminal  trials  of  foreign- 
ers in  Hawaii  under  French,  127  ; of 
United  States  with  Hawaii  (1849), 
128 ; of  United  States  with  Borneo 
(1850),  142 ; of  Japan  with  United 
States  (1854),  164;  of  Japan  with 
Great  Britain  (1854),  166  ; of  Japan 
with  Russia  (1855),  166;  of  Japan 
with  United  States,  ratified,  168 ; of 
Siam  with  United  States,  negotiated 
by  Harris,  172 ; of  Japan  with 
United  States  (1857),  175  ; of  Japan 
with  United  States  (1858),  182  ; of 
Japan  with  United  States,  pi*ovisions 


of,  182 ; of  Japan  with  Great  Britain, 
Russia,  and  France  (1858),  183  ; be- 
tween China  and  United  States 
(1844),  clause  relative  to  revision  of, 
217  ; of  China  with  United  States 
(1858),  238,  242;  of  China  with 
Russia,  Great  Britain,  and  France  ; 
of  China  with  United  States  (1868), 
265;  of  China  with  United  States 
(1880),  relating  to  immigration,  294  ; 
of  China  with  United  States,  prohib- 
iting opium  trade,  295  ; of  United 
States  with  China  (1888),  negoti- 
ated but  not  finally  ratified,  300 ; 
of  China  with  United  States  (1894), 
302 ; of  Korea  with  Japan  (1876), 
320 ; of  Korea  with  United  States, 
324  ; of  Korea  with  Great  Britain 
(1883),  327  ; of  Korea  with  Germany 
(1883),  327 ; of  Koifea  with  France 
(1886),  331 ; of  peace  between  China 
and  Japan  (1895),  340 ; of  Japan 
with  United  States  (1878),  357  ; of 
Japan  with  United  States  on  extra- 
dition (1886),  358 ; of  Japan  with 
Great  Britain  (1894),  361 ; of  Japan 
with  United  States  (1894)  362  ; reci- 
procity, of  1855  and  one  of  1867,  be- 
tween Hawaii  and  United  States,  fail 
of  ratification,  367  ; reciprocity,  be- 
tween Hawaii  and  United  States 
(1876),  369;  of  annexation  of  Ha- 
waii to  United  States,  negotiated 
in  1893,  377 ; same  in  1897,  381 ; 
joint  resolution  of  annexation,  passed 
July,  1898,  383 ; of  Samoa  with 
United  States  (1878)  and  other  coun- 
tries, 389  ; of  China  with  the  pow- 
ers (1901),  430;  text  of,  between 
China  and  powers  (September  7, 
1901),  441 ; text  of,  of  China  with 
United  States  (1894),  450 ; text  of, 
of  Japan  with  United  States  (1894), 
453  ; text  of,  between  United  States, 
Germany,  and  Great  Britain  (1899), 
regarding  Samoa,  466 ; text  of,  of 
eace  between  United  States  ^and 
pain,  1898,  468. 

Trescot,  William  H.,  one  of  commis- 
sion to  negotiate  treaty  of  immigra- 
tion with  China,  294. 

Tribute-bearer,  Lord  Macartney  con- 
sidered, by  Chinese,  23  ; Webster’s 
instruction  that  Cushing  was  not, 
80. 

Tsiyeng,  Chinese  high  commissioner  to 
negotiate  treaty  with  Cushing,  85  ; 
report  of,  to  emperor  upon  negotia- 


496 


INDEX 


tions  at  Wang  Hiya,  90;  Cushing’s  I 
opinion  of,  91.  1 

Tsung-li  Yamen,  established,  256  ; ap-  I 
preciates  Burlingame’s  policy  of 
cooperation,  259  ; Sen  Ki-yu  made  j 
a member  of,  260;  on  request  of 
United  States  notifies  Korea  of  in- 
tended American  expedition,  614; 
abolished  and  succeeded  by  Wai-wu 
Pu,  431. 

Tung  Wen  Kwan,  the  imperial  college, 
261. 

Tutuila,  one  of  Samoan  group  trans- 
ferred to  United  States,  397. 

Tyler,  President,  message  of,  regard- 
ing Chinese  mission,  78 ; letter  of, 
to  emperor  of  China,  81. 

United  States,  extension  of  commerce, 
of,  in  Pacific,  26  ; commercial  diffi- 
culties of,  in  the  Pacific,  26;  first 
vessel  of,  to  reach  China,  27  ; com- 
mercial enterprise  of,  29 ; conduct  of 
China  trade  by,  30 ; fur  trade  of, 
with  China,  31 ; increase  of  trade  of, 
with  China,  36  ; better  position  of, 
in  regard  to  political  relations,  44 ; 
exposed  condition  of  commerce  of, 
in  Pacific,  45 ; almost  exclusive  trade 
of,  in  furs  and  sandalwood,  101  ; opin- 
ion in,  regarding  Opium  War,  73  ; in- 
terests of,  during  Opium  War,  74; 
interests  of,  in  China,  76 ; treaty 
of  Wang  Hiya  between  China  and 
86 ; effect  of  Chinese  treaties  on 
commerce  of,  95 ; extent  of  whaling 
industry  of,  103;  first  ship  to  carry 
flag  of,  to  England,  103  ; attitude  of, 
to  Hawaiian  independence,  111  ; 
consul  of,  to  Hawaii  established,  113 ; 
treaty  negotiated  between  Hawaiian 
Islands  and  (1826),  114;  Hawaiian 
commission  arrives  in  (1842),  121  ; 
policy  of,  toward  Hawaii  declared 
by  Webster,  123;  controversy  of, 
with  Hawaii  over  criminal  trials, 
127  ; treaty  of  Hawaii  with  (1849), 
128 ; provisional  cession  of  Hawaiian 
Islands  to,  130  ; Creasy  on,  in  Orient, 
1.34 ; Seward  on,  in  Orient,  135  ; early 
attempts  of,  to  open  trade  with  Ja- 
pan, 136  ; cause  of  determination  of, 
to  force  treaty  on  Japan,  145 ; sends 
expedition  to  Japan,  147  ; treaty  be- 
tween Japan  and  (1854),  164,  165; 
sends  squadron  to  dedication  of 
Perry  monument  in  Japan,  169 ; 
treaty  of  Japan  with  (1^7),  175 ; 


delivery  of  letter  of  President  of,  to 
emperor  of  Japan  by  Harris,  176  ; 
negotiation  of  treaty  of  1857  between 
Japan  and,  180 ; treaty  between 
Japan  and  (1858),  182;  rioters  burn 
legation  of,  at  Yedo,  189  ; Japanese 
embassy  to  (1860),  184 ; murder  of 
secretary  of  legation  of,  in  streets  of 
Yedo,  188 ; cooperative  policy  of,  in 
Japan,  191 ; returns  share  of  Shi- 
monoseki  indemnity  to  Japan,  194 ; 
protests  against  hostility  of  Japanese 
government  to  Christianity,  200 ; 
foremost  in  development  of  Japan, 
201 ; attitude  of,  towards  Taiping 
Rebellion,  211 ; hostilities  at  Canton 
between  China  and,  225;  proposed 
acquisition  of  Formosa  and  Lew 
Chew  Islands  by,  229 ; conservative 
policy  of,  in  relation  to  China,  229 ; 
policy  of  peaceful  cooperation  by,  in 
China,  231 ; could  not  make  war 
against  China  without  consent  of 
Congress,  2.32 ; opposed  to  coercive 
measures  with  China,  236;  treaty 
between  China  and  (1858),  238, 242 ; 
claims  of  citizens  of,  against  China 
settled,  243 ; returns  to  China  part  of 
Canton  Indemnity  Fund,  244;  Bur- 
lingame embassy  in,  264 ; treaty  of 
China  with  (1868),  265;  firm  atti- 
tude of,  on  audience  question,  269 ; 
Chinese  youths  sent  to,  to  be  edu- 
cated, 272 ; demand  for  Chinese  la- 
bor in,  274 ; legislation  of,  against 
coolie  trade,  281;  Chinese  laborers 
arrive  on  Pacific  coast  of,  282  ; treaty 
between  China  and  (1880),  relative 
to  immigration,  294  ; treaty  right  of, 
to  regulate  Chinese  immigration, 
295  ; by  treaty  with  China  prohibits 
opium  trade,  295  ; opposed  from  out- 
set to  opium  trade,  298 ; treaty  be- 
tween China  and  (1888)  negotiated 
but  not  finally  ratified,  300 ; in- 
creased sentiment  in,  against  Chinese 
immigration,  302 ; treaty  between 
China  and  (1894),  302 ; change, 
since  1868,  of  public  opinion  in,  in 
regard  to  Chinese  exclusion,  305 ; 
vessel  of,  burned  and  its  crew  killed 
by  Koreans,  310 ; investigation  by, 
as  to  the  affairs  of  the  General  Sher- 
man, 312 ; naval  expedition  of,  to 
Korea,  313  ; Li  Hung  Chang  advises 
Koreans  to  make  treaty  with,  323  ; 
treaty  between  Korea  and  (1882), 
324 ; exterritorial  rights  of,  in  Korea, 


INDEX 


497 


325 ; Korean  embassy  sent  to,  326 ; 
citizens  of,  aid  in  transformation  of 
Korea,  330;  efforts  of,  to  .prevent 
Chinese-Japanese  War,  333 ; declines 
to  unite  with  Great  Britain  to  pre- 
vent Chinese-Japanese  War,  334; 
letter  of  thanks  from  emperor  of 
Japan  for  services  of,  during  Chinese 
War,  341 ; Iwakura  embassy  arrives 
in,  346 ; part  taken  by  citizens  of,  in 
reforms  in  Japan,  350;  treaty  be- 
tween Japan  and  (1878),  357 ; extra- 
dition treaty  between  Japan  and 
(1886),  358;  treaty  between  Japan 
and  ^894),  regarding  revision  of 
treaties,  362 ; reciprocity  treaty  be- 
tween Hawaii  and  (1876),  369;  Ha- 
waii cedes  Pearl  Harbor  to,  371 ; 
declines  to  join  in  guaranty  of  neu- 
trality and  independence  of  Hawaii, 
372 ; withholds  approval  of  alliance 
between  Hawaii  and  Samoa,  373 ; 
lands  marines  at  Honolulu  during 
revolution  of  January  16-17,  1893, 
377 ; annexation  treaty  between  Ha- 
waii and,  negotiated  February,  1893, 
377 ; Hawaiian  annexation  treaty 
withdrawn  by  President  Cleveland, 
378 ; sends  Blount  as  commissioner 
to  investigate  Hawaiian  revolution 
and  conditions,  378 ; efforts  of  Presi- 
dent of,  for  peaceful  restoration  of 
Hawaiian  queen,  379;  failure  of, 
to  secure  restoration  of  Hawaiian 
queen,  379;  annexation  treaty  be- 
tween Hawaii  and,  negotiated  in 
1897,  381 ; joint  resolution  of  annexa- 
tion passed  July,  1898,  383 ; Hawaii 
organized  as  territory  of,  383 ; rea- 
sons for  annexation  of  Hawaii  to, 
384 ; sends  agent  to  Samoa  to  report 
conditions,  388;  declines  protector- 
ate over  Samoa,  389 ; treaty  between 
Samoa  and  (1878),  389  ; desire  of, 
to  preserve  Samoan  independence, 
392 ; sends  commissioners  to  Berlin 
Samoan  Conference,  393 ; secures 
Tutuila  in  partition  of  Samoan 
group,  397 ; efforts  and  failure  of,  to 
preserve  Samoan  independence,  397  ; 
policy  of,  at  commencement  of  war 
with  Spain,  399 ; policy  of,  affected 
by  victory  of  Manila  Bay,  400 ; ter- 
ritory held  by,  at  close  of  Spanish 
War,  400  ; prophetic  words  of  Sew- 
ard as  to  expansion  of,  401 ; truce 
protocol  of  August  12, 1898,  between 
Spain  and,  402  ; commissioners  of,  to 


negotiate  treaty  of  peace  with  Spain, 
403 ; instructions  to  commissioners 
of,  at  peace  negotiations,  403 ; rea- 
sons advanced  for  acquisition  of  Phil- 
ippines by,  405;  Spain  cedes  Phil- 
ippines to,  405  ; change  of  policy  of, 
as  to  military  cooperation  in  China, 
422  ; policy  of,  in  China,  outlined  in 
circular  note  of  July  3,  1900,  423 ; 
desires  China  to  punish  Boxer  lead- 
ers, not  surrender  them  to  allies,  425  ; 
position  of,  on  questions  of  punish- 
ment and  indemnity  in  Chinese  peace 
negotiations,  428,  429  ; influence  of, 
in  peace  negotiations  between  China 
and  allies,  431 ; favors  “ open  door  ” 
policy  in  China,  432 ; favors  China’s 
view  as  to  rate  of  exchange  on  in- 
demnity payments,  433;  friendship 
between  Great  Britain  and,  437  ; just 
and  liberal  conduct  of,  in  the  Orient, 
438 ; on  acquiring  Philippines  be- 
came an  Asiatic  power,  438 ; task 
and  duty  of,  in  the  Orient,  438 ; text 
of  treaty  on  immigration  between 
China  and  (1894),  450 ; text  of  treaty 
of,  with  Japan  (1895),  453;  text  of 
joint  resolution  of  Congress  for  an- 
nexing Hawaii  to,  463  ; text  of  Sa- 
moan treaty  (1899)  between  Ger- 
many, Great  Britain,  and,  466 ; text 
of  protocol  of  August  12,  1898,  and 
treaty  of  peace  between  Spain  and, 
468. 

Uraga,  Perry’s  Japan  expedition  an- 
chors opposite,  150;  President’s  let- 
ter to  emperor  of  Japan  delivered 
at,  156. 

Vancouver,  Captain  George,  visits  Ha- 
waiian Islands,  100  ; attempts  to  an- 
nex Hawaiian  Islands,  111. 

Van  Valkenburgh,  R.  B.,  appointed 
minister  to  Japan,  197. 

Wai-wu  Pu,  Tsung-li  Yamen  abolished 
and  succeeded  by,  431. 

Wang  Hiya,  treaty  of,  86. 

Ward,  Frederick  T.,  general  in  Chi- 
nese service,  212 ; organizes  “ Ever 
Victorious  Array,”  212 ; his  death, 
212. 

Ward,  John  E.,  appointed  United 
States  minister  to  China,  245 ; de- 
layed at  Peking  over  audience  ques- 
tion, 249 ; departs  from  Peking,  252 ; 
course  pursued  by,  criticised,  252; 
retires  as  minister  to  China,  253. 


498 


INDEX 


Weather-vane,  Chinese  superstition 
concerning'  American  consul’s,  91. 

Webster,  Daniel,  on  importance  of 
Chinese  mission,  78 ; letter  of  in- 
structions by,  to  Cushing,  80 ; United 
States  policy  toward  Hawaii  declared 
by,  123. 

Webster,  Fletcher,  secretary  of  Cush- 
ing embassy,  79. 

Weddel,  Captain,  5. 

Wei-hai-wei,  fortress  of,  captured  by 
Japanese,  340 ; China  leases,  to  Great 
Britain,  415. 

Wensiang,  member  of  Tsung-li  Yamen, 
and  foremost  Chinese  statesman  of 
his  time,  257 ; on  the  danger  of 
awakening  China,  434. 

Whale  fishery,  superiority  of  Ameri- 
can colonies  in,  102 ; after  American 
Revolution,  103 ; growth  of  Ameri- 
can, 104 ; effect  of  Confederate 
cruisers  on,  105 ; decline  of  Ameri- 
can, 105 ; in  Japanese  waters,  145. 

Williams,  Dr.  S.  Wells,  on  Morrison’s 
voyage  to  Japan,  138 ; joins  Japan 
expedition  as  chief  interpreter,  150 ; 
assists  in  negotiations  of  treaty  of 
1858  between  China  and  United 
States,  238 ; view  of,  as  to  relations 
of  foreign  ministers  during  negotia- 
tions at  Tientsin,  241 ; succeeds  in 
securing  provision  of  toleration  of 
Christianity  in  Chinese  treaty  of 
1858,  243 ; charg4  of  United  States 
legation  in  China,  244,  253 ; author 
of  “ The  Middle  Kingdom  ” and  Chi- 
nese dictionary,  273 ; retires  from 
diplomatic  service,  273 ; accepts 
chair  of  Chinese  Literature  at  Yale 
University,  273;  profound  learning 
of,  274. 

Women,  foreign,  excluded  from  China 
and  Japan,  19,  42. 


(1549),  9 ; lands  on  Chinese  coast 
and  death  there,  410. 

Yamagutsi,  vice-ambassador  of  Iwa- 
kura  embassy,  345. 

Yedo,  consternation  caused  at,  by  arri- 
val of  Japan  expedition,  151 ; Amer- 
ican surveying  parties  advance  near 
to,  154  ; preparations  of  defense  at, 
in  expectation  of  Perry’s  return,  159 ; 
official  visit  of  Harris  to,  177  ; mur- 
der of  secretary  of  United  States 
legation  in  streets  of,  188 ; American 
legation  at,  burned  by  rioters,  189  ; 
American  minister  retires  from,  to 
Yokohama  at  request  of  Japanese 
government,  190;  postponement  of 
opening  port  of,  192 ; return  of 
American  legation  to,  197 ; Mikado 
transfers  capital  to,  and  name 
changed  to  Tokio,  198. 

Yedo,  Bay  of,  the  Morrison  enters 
(1837),  138 ; the  Manhattan  enters 
(1845),  139;  Commodore  Biddle  en- 
ters, in  1846, 143  ; Commodore  Perry 
enters,  July  8,  1853,  150  ; Japan  ex- 
pedition returns  to,  160. 

Yeh,  Chinese  commissioner  present  at 
interview  between  Chinese  commis- 
sioner and  Davis,  204  ; Chinese  high 
commissioner,  205 ; farewell  note  of, 
to  Minister  Marshall,  213 ; avoids  in- 
terview with  Minister  McLane,  214  ; 
refuses  interview  to  Minister  Parker, 
221 ; excuses  attack  of  Americans  by 
Chinese  forts  near  Canton,  226  ; ex- 
cuses himself  from  receiving  Minister 
Reed,  233 ; captured  by  allies,  sent 
to  Calcutta,  where  he  died,  233 ; un- 
reasonably blamed  for  his  conduct 
toward  foreigners,  233. 

Yokohama,  Perry’s  negotiations  take 
place  on  future  site  of,  162 ; Ameri- 
can minister,  at  request  of  Japanese 
government,  retires  to,  190. 


Xavier,  Francis,  arrives  in  Japan 


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